French attack suspect ‘was not known as a radical’

The man suspected of ramming a BMW into a group of soldiers near Paris is a 37-year-old Algerian who was known to police as a suspect in minor crimes but not as someone with radical beliefs, French police said.

Hamou Benlatreche was living legally in France and had never been convicted of a crime, a police officer involved in the case said.

Police have not disclosed a motive for the attack.

Benlatreche’s name was on the letterbox for an apartment in a building in the suburb of Bezons, north of Paris, that police searched on Wednesday night.

Six soldiers were hurt in Wednesday’s incident, though none had lifethreatening injuries.

Benlatreche was arrested in northern France following a major manhunt, police said.