Knifeman busted in Eiffel ‘Terror’ attack

A knife-wielding man — who shouted, “Allahu akbar,” and later claimed to want to kill a soldier— was tackled by police at the Eiffel Tower over the weekend after trying to force his way into the landmark, officials said Sunday.

The Paris tower was swarmed by police and briefly evacuated after the 19-year-old man, recently released from a psychiatric ward, tried to barge into a secure area at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

No shots were fired and no police or bystanders were injured.

He told investigators that he wanted to carry out “an attack against a soldier and had been in contact with a member of the jihadist group Islamic State who encouraged him to take action,” a source told Agence France-Presse.

The man was charged with “glo- rifying terrorism,” but the crime is being handled by regular police, not anti-terror forces, due to the his mental issues, officials said.

Officials did not reveal his identity other than to say he is a French citizen born in Mauritania.

The Eiffel Tower had been lit up in the colors of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer club on Saturday in celebration of the arrival of Brazilian soccer star Neymar, who just joined the team.

Paris has been under close watch by security forces after a series of terror attacks in 2015.