Knifeman kills mother, sister near Paris

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A man stabbed his mother and sister to death and seriously injured another person before being shot dead by French police on Thursday.

The attack took place in Trappes, the western suburb of Paris, local authorities confirmed.

The man, born in 1982, had already been on service intelligence radar for radicalization and apologia for terrorism. He is also believed to have had serious mental health problems, though he has not yet been named.

"The individual has been neutralized. My first thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones," interior minister Gerard Collomb wrote on his Twitter account.

He added police "are investigating to establish the circumstances of this tragedy."

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb speaks to reporters near the scene in Trappes, France, August 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

The knifing incident began early on Thursday in Trappes, a poor town with a large Muslim population about 30 kilometers southwest of the capital.

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

Islamic State has claimed it was an attack by one of its fighters responding to the terror organization’s propaganda.

French police respond to a knife attack in Trappes, near Paris, August 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

But experts have urged caution about recent ISIL announcements because it has lost credibility after claiming responsibility for seemingly unrelated violence, as it faces defeat on the battlefield in the Middle East.

French terror expert Jean-Charles Brisard, head of the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism (CAT), said it was "too soon to say" if ISIL had a hand in the violence in Trappes.

The case is being handled by French criminal prosecutors rather than anti-terror specialists.

(Cover: French police secure a street after a knife attack in Trappes, near Paris, August 23, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency