ISIS claims responsibility for France stabbing

ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly stabbing attack in Marseille that left two women dead. 

A terrorist who stabbed two women to death Sunday at the main train station in the southern French city of Marseille who shouted “allahu akbar!” was an Islamic State (ISIS) “soldier,” ISIS stated while taking responsibility for the attack.

French soldiers shot the man to death after the stabbings and authorities were working to determine if he had links to Islamic terrorism.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who went to Marseille to meet with local authorities and troops on the scene, said police have video that shows the man attacking a woman and running away, then coming back and attacking a second woman.

The video shows the man running toward soldiers who were rushing to Marseille’s St. Charles train station. The soldiers fatally shot him and both women died of their injuries, Collomb said.

Some witnesses reported hearing the terrorist should “allahu akbar,” Collomb said.

Allahu akbar — Arabic for “God is greatest” — is a phrase often used by Muslim terrorists during attacks.

The Paris prosecutor’s office, which oversees all terror cases in France, said it had opened a counter-terrorism investigation into the Marseille attack.

The ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency said in a statement Sunday night that the terrorist was acting in response to ISIS calls to target countries in the US-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

The statement did not provide details or evidence of a direct link to the terrorist. France has been part of the anti-ISIS coalition since 2014 and has been repeatedly targeted by ISIS attacks.

Police sources told the Associated Press that one of the victims was stabbed and one had her throat slit. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

Collomb declined to provide any details about the terrorist or identify the victims.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “deeply outraged” by Sunday’s “barbarous” knife attack. In a tweet, Macron paid tribute to the French soldiers who responded “with cool heads and efficiency.”

The French government this month decided to maintain the military force of 7,000 soldiers that was created to protect sensitive sites after the deadly terror attacks of 2015.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff