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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Man kills mother and sister near Paris, IS claims attack

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Paris: A man stabbed his mother and sister to death and seriously injured another person in a town near Paris on Thursday before being shot dead by police. The 36-year-old had serious mental health problems and had been on a terror watch list since 2016, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters after visiting the scene in the town of Trappes.


The motive for the violence remained unclear despite a claim by the IS group that it was an attack by one of its fighters responding to the terror organisation’s propaganda.


Collomb said the attacker was “mentally unstable, rather than someone who was committed, who would respond to orders from a terrorist organisation, in particular Daesh,” another name for IS.


Regular French criminal prosecutors are investigating the case rather than anti-terror specialists, Collomb stressed, although checks on the killer’s phone and computer were under way. Experts have urged caution about recent IS claims of responsibility for attacks around the world, because declarations have multiplied as it faces defeat on the battlefield in the Middle East.


The attacker’s third victim was in a critical condition after being rushed to hospital by helicopter, officials said.


The attack happened around 9 am (0700 GMT) on Thursday in Trappes, a poor town with a large Muslim population about 30 kilometres southwest of the capital.


Armed police responded to reports of violence and were threatened by the man who had stabbed his mother to death in her home, Collomb added.


“He walked towards the police with his knife,” he said. “Police then opened fire.” The assailant has not yet been named. The neighbourhood remained partially sealed off by police on Thursday afternoon. — AFP.


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