France Knife Attack

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3 min read
French firefighters (C) operate near the site of a blazed weapon attack where a man is suspected of killing one person and wounding two municipal police officers in Mulhouse, eastern France on February 22, 2025.

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One person was killed and several others, including police officers, were injured in a knife attack in eastern France on Saturday. The attack, which occurred in the city of Mulhouse, near the German border, has been called an Islamist terror attack by French President Emmanuel Macron. The suspect, a 37-year-old Algerian man, was arrested and had been on a terror watchlist, according to French media. The man allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" multiple times during the attack, which occurred shortly before 4pm on Saturday in the middle of a market near a demonstration about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The stabbing spree resulted in the death of a passer-by who tried to intervene in the attack, according to the local prosecutor. Two police officers were seriously injured, with one sustaining an injury to the carotid artery and the other to the thorax. Three more police officers and one parking attendant were lightly injured in the attack. The French president said he had "no doubt" the attack was terror-related and that the government was determined to continue doing "everything to eradicate terrorism on our soil".

The suspect was under an order to leave France after being released from a detention centre in June and had since been under house arrest, according to Le Parisien. The attack occurred shortly after the suspect allegedly refused to appear at the Mulhouse national police station. The incident has been condemned by French officials, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou saying "fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning". The interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, was expected to travel to the scene of the attack later on Saturday.

The attack is the latest in a series of terror incidents in Europe over the last 12 months, particularly in Germany. On Friday, a Syrian asylum seeker was arrested after stabbing a tourist at Berlin's Holocaust memorial, and earlier this month, an Afghan migrant drove his car into a crowd in Munich, killing a mother and her two-year-old daughter and injuring at least 30 more. The increase in attacks has become a major flashpoint in the German election, which takes place on Sunday. The French attack has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the country's terror watchlist, which was launched in 2015 following the deadly attacks at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and on a Jewish supermarket.

Here is a list of key events and reactions to the attack: * One person killed and several others injured in knife attack in eastern France * Suspect, a 37-year-old Algerian man, arrested and had been on a terror watchlist * French President Emmanuel Macron calls attack an "Islamist terror attack" * Two police officers seriously injured, with one sustaining an injury to the carotid artery and the other to the thorax * Three more police officers and one parking attendant lightly injured * Incident condemned by French officials, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou saying "fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning" * Interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, expected to travel to the scene of the attack later on Saturday * Attack is latest in series of terror incidents in Europe over the last 12 months, particularly in Germany.

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