FRENCH COPS SHOOT CAR ATTACK SUSPECT

6 anti-terrorism soldiers hurt after BMW driven by man rams into them

PARIS then sped away.

“I heard a huge crash which I thought was the sound of scaffolding being put up,” said Thierry Chappe, a resident in a building opposite the crime scene.

Police later gave chase to the vehicle on a motorway north of , and shot and wounded the suspect, a man aged in his late 30s who was also arrested, sources involved in the manhunt said.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb described the act as “deliberate” and carried out by a “man on his own”.

He spoke after visiting three of the injured soldiers along with Defence Minister Florence Parly. All six were taken to hospital, but none had life-threatening injuries.

They were part of the 7,000strong anti-terrorism Sentinelle force set up in January 2015, which saw armed, uniformed soldiers patrol the streets and guard high-risk areas, like tourist sites and religious buildings.

Collomb said the forces had been attacked on six different occasions since 2015. The country has been under a state of emergency since major attacks here in November 2015.

The incident came just four days after Sentinelle soldiers intervened to control an 18-yearold with a history of psychological problems at the Eiffel Tower where he brandished a knife.

He told investigators he wanted to kill a soldier. AFP