ISIL claims deadly Marseille knife attack

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A knifeman killed two women at the main train station in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille on Sunday in an attack claimed by ISIL, before being shot dead by soldiers on patrol.

One of the victims had her throat slit by the assailant, a man with a criminal record believed to be in his 30s who witnesses said shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) at the start of his rampage.

People are seen outside the Saint-Charles train station in Marseille, France October 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Troops serving in a special 7,000-strong force known as Sentinelle set up to guard vulnerable areas in terror-hit France responded to the stabbings and shot dead the attacker, whose identity remains unknown.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said about a dozen witnesses were being questioned.

"This act could be terrorist in nature but at this time we cannot confirm that," he added.

"I was on the esplanade just in front of the station," Melanie Petit, an 18-year-old student, told AFP. "I heard someone shout 'Allahu Akbar' and I saw a man who seemed to be dressed all in black."

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb speaks to the media outside the Saint-Charles train station after French soldiers shot and killed a man who stabbed two women to death at the main train station in Marseille, France, October 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Later, ISIL's Amaq propaganda agency cited a "security source" saying: "The executor of the stabbing operation in the city of Marseille... is from the soldiers of the ISIL."

'Controlled panic'

Heavily armed police sealed off and evacuated the ornate rail terminus in the bustling heart of France's second-biggest city, stopping all train traffic on some of the country's busiest lines.

The latest deaths came with France still on high alert and under a state of emergency following a string of attacks in recent years by extremists linked to the ISIL group or Al-Qaeda.

Since 2015, a total of 239 people have been killed in France by jihadists, according to an AFP count before Sunday's incident.

Travelers walk past French police and soldiers who secure a street near the Saint-Charles train station (Rear) after French soldiers shot and killed a man who stabbed two women to death at the main train station in Marseille, France, October 1. /Reuters Photo‍

After the lunchtime attack, anti-terror prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into "killings linked to a terrorist organization" and the "attempted killing of a public official".

Travelers around the station described "controlled panic" as security forces evacuated passengers and looked for possible accomplices, while another witness said white sheets were placed over the bodies of the victims.

The two victims remained unidentified but were both "around 20 years old," a police source said.

Their assailant was known to the authorities for a string of common law offences and had "no papers on him," the source added.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb meets with firemen outside the Saint-Charles train station after French soldiers shot and killed a man who stabbed two women to death at the main train station in Marseille, France, October 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo

He was identified by his fingerprints after being shot dead.

Collomb said that video surveillance footage showed the assailant attacked the first victim, then fled – only to return and kill the other woman.

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Source(s): AFP