France: Knife attack near Nice church suspected to be ‘terrorist attack,’ at least three reported killed


At least three people were reportedly killed and several others injured in a knife attack carried out near a church in the Notre-Dame area of Nice in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The public were asked to avoid the area while a major security operation was carried out by armed police. 

According to French media, citing police sources, a man and a woman succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack. The number of people who suffered injuries during the incident remains unknown.

Media outlets are reporting that the woman was decapitated in the attack but this has yet to be officially confirmed by police or government sources.

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi confirmed that the alleged perpetrator has been taken into custody and thanked police for their quick response. 

The motive for the attack remains unclear but Mayor Estrosi confirmed that, based on the evidence so far, it was a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, police are carrying out a controlled explosion in the area and have asked the public to steer clear while bomb disposal teams work.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has called an emergency meeting to assess the situation and will deploy a crisis unit to help manage the ongoing security operation.

The attack took place just one day after the French interior minister warned that the terrorist threat in the country is "very high" amid rising tensions following the decapitation of a teacher in an apparent Islamist attack.

School teacher Samuel Paty was killed after showing pupils various cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed during a lesson about freedom of speech.

Darmanin said France must continue to fight against “rampant Islamism which is arming people ideologically.”

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