Stabbings probed as terror attack

Bank neighbourhood after the attack, which happened on rue Monsigny at about 9pm. Bar patrons and opera-goers described surprise and confusion in the immediate area.

Beyond the police cordon, however, crowds still filled nearby cafes and the city’s night life resumed its normal pace soon after the attack.

Prosecutor Francois Molins said counterterrorism authorities are leading the investigation on potential charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with terrorist motives.

‘‘At this stage, based on the one hand on the account of witnesses who said the attacker cried ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is great in Arabic) while attacking passersby with a knife, and given the modus operandi, we have turned this over to the counterterrorist section of the Paris prosecutor’s office,’’ Molins told reporters from the scene.

The Islamic State group’s Aamaq news agency said in a statement later that the assailant carried out the attack in response to the group’s calls for supporters to target members of the USled military coalition squeezing the extremists out of Iraq and Syria.

The Aamaq statement did not provide evidence for its claim or details on the assailant’s identity.

France’s military has been active in the coalition since 2014. – AP