Thursday, January 07, 2016

Terror suspect with fake suicide belt shot dead in Paris

French police have shot dead a man who entered a police station with a knife whilst wearing a fake explosive device. The incident has once again shaken Paris and comes on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks which left 17 dead.

Only minutes before the attack President François Hollande had praised police in a speech commemorating the Paris killings in which gunmen murdered 17 people in a series of attacks at the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices and a Jewish supermarket.

In his address, Hollande said 5,000 extra police and gendarmes would be added to existing forces by 2017 in an "unprecedented" strengthening of French security.

In the shadow of the Sacré-Cœur

Thursday's attack occurred at a police station in Goutte d'Or in the 18th arrondissement of Paris not too far from the iconic Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

One witness, who was around 50 metres from the police station, told the French news station FRANCE 24 that he clearly heard the man cry "Allahu Akbar" [الله أكبر] - God is great - as he rushed toward the police station.

Pictures posted on Twitter showed the alleged assailant wearing a camouflage coat, lying on the pavement after being shot. A police bomb disposal robot appeared to be inspecting the body.

Meanwhile much of the area was locked down as police carried out investigations.

The attacker, who was carrying a mobile phone and a sheet of paper showing the black flag of ISIL, was later identified as Sallah Ali, a 20-year-old Moroccan with previous convictions for theft.

Paris in shock, again

Paris has been rocked by two series of attacks in the last year. Last January's Charlie Hebdo attacks left the city in shock and 17 dead [Wikipedia / tvnewswatch: Barbarism in Paris leaves 12 dead at Charlie Hebdo office]. Then in November last year, 130 were killed and dozens of others were injured in a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital [Wikipedia / tvnewswatch: A night of terror on the streets of Paris]   .

Reports: BBC / Sky News / CNN / France24

tvnewswatch, London, UK

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