World condemns terror act in Nice
Three killed in knife attack at France church
paris — World leaders condemned Thursday’s deadly stabbings in the French city of Nice, which authorities are investigating as a terrorist act, and expressed solidarity with France.
Condemnation came from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the pope and European leaders as well as from Turkey, which is involved in a heated diplomatic spat with Paris over blasphemous caricatures.
A knife-wielding man killed three people at a church in Nice on Thursday, slitting the throat of at least one.
The assailant was shot and wounded by police, Nice’s Mayor Christian Estrosi said.
“He kept repeating ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greatest) even while under medication” as he was brought to hospital, Estrosi told journalists.
The body of a woman whose throat had been cut in an apparent beheading attempt was found inside the Basilica of Notre-Dame. The body of a man was also found inside the church, while another woman succumbed to her injuries.
Meanwhile, in another incident, a Saudi man was arrested in Jeddah after attacking and wounding a security guard with a “sharp tool” at the French consulate. A statement from the Makkah region’s police said the guard suffered “minor injuries” and that “legal action” was being taken against the perpetra
tor. The French Embassy said the consulate was subject to an “attack by knife which targeted a guard”, adding the guard was taken to hospital and his life was not in danger. European Union
leaders expressed solidarity with France as well, and pledged to confront “those that seek to incite and spread hatred”. —
nice (France) — A knife-wielding man killed three people at a church in the French city of Nice on Thursday, slitting the throat of at least one, in what President Emmanuel Macron called a ‘Islamist terrorist attack’.
The assailant was shot and wounded by police, Nice’s Mayor Christian Estrosi said.
The suspect is believed to be a 21-year-old Tunisian who arrived in Europe just a few weeks ago, sources close to the inquiry said.
The suspect, identified as Brahim Aouissaoui, landed in late September on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where he was placed in virus quarantine by authorities before being released with an order to quit Italian territory.
He arrived in France in early October, the sources said.
In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, state television reported that a Saudi man had been arrested in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after attacking and injuring a guard at the French consulate. The French Embassy said he was in hospital after a knife assault though his life was not in danger.
The body of a woman whose throat had been cut in an apparent beheading attempt was found inside the Basilica of Notre-Dame, in the heart of the Mediterranean resort city, a source close to the inquiry said.
The body of a man, a church employee of about 45 years old, was also found inside the church, while another woman succumbed to her injuries after seeking refuge in a nearby bar.
Father Philippe Asso, who serves at the basilica, said no mass was underway at the time of the attack, but the church opens around 8am (0700 GMT) and “people come in to pray at all hours.”
Churches across France sounded death knells, the traditional bell tollings to mark a death, at 3:00pm.
The killings, which occurred just ahead of the Catholic holy day of All Saints Day on Sunday, prompted the government to raise the terror alert level to maximum countrywide. — AFP