French open terror probe following fatal train station stabbings

Two people have been murdered after a man stabbed into a crowd people at a train station in the south of France with police believing it to be terror-related.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

01 October, 2017

French police are treating the incident as a terror attack [AFP]

French anti-terror investigators are looking into a knife attack at a train station in the south of France which left two people dead.

The stabbings took place in Marseille's main train station early on Sunday afternoon.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement the probe would focus on "killings linked to a terrorist organisation" and the "attempted killing of a public official".

Local prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said the knifeman had been shot by soldiers, and comes following a raft of al-Qaeda and Islamic State group-inspired attacks in France.

France has deployed 7,000 troops across the country to guard high-risk areas such as transport hubs, tourist sites and religious buildings.

The knifeman is believed to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) before attacking passers-by, AFP reported.

The attacks since 2015 have left 239 people dead, according to an AFP count before Sunday's incident.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb posted on Twitter that he would travel to Marseille immediately.