1 dead, 3 wounded in France knife attack labeled Islamic extremism

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PARIS (AP) — A passerby was stabbed to death and three police officers injured Saturday near a crowded market in eastern France. An Algerian man identified as an Islamic extremist with a schizophrenic profile was detained in the attack, the interior minister said.

France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office took over the investigation. The attack happened in the city of Mulhouse, located in a region that borders Germany and Switzerland.

Macron said the government has “complete determination” to respond to the attack, which he blamed on ‘’Islamist terrorism.'' France has been on high alert for extremist threats.

The victim was a 69-year-old Portuguese man, the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said. The three injured included a parking control officer stabbed in the aorta and torso who remained hospitalized, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters at the scene. The other two sustained lighter injuries.

A 37-year-old Algerian man was arrested, prosecutors said. He said ‘’Allahu akbar,'' “God is great” in Arabic, during the attack, and was armed with a knife and screwdriver, Retailleau said.

The suspect arrived in France without papers in 2014, and was arrested and convicted of glorifying terrorism in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Retailleau said. Police experts had ″detected a schizophrenic profile″ in the suspect, he added.

After several months in prison for that conviction, the suspect was confined to house arrest as authorities sought to expel him to Algeria. Retailleau lashed out at Algeria for resisting the return of criminals France is seeking to deport.

Tensions have grown in recent months between France and Algeria — which shook off French rule after a brutal war 60 years ago — over the return of Algerians accused of inciting violence or other crimes in France as well as diplomatic disputes.

Retailleau noted Islamic extremist attacks recently in Germany and other countries, and said France has made ″immense progress″ since a wave of attacks in 2015 and 2016 linked to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida.