French police foil terrorist attack on the anniversary of Charlie Hebdo attack
French officials say the man shouted “Allahu Akbar!” outside the police station in Goutte d’Or, near Montmartre, where police shot and killed him. The suspect was waving a knife and there are reports saying he was wearing a suicide belt.
A police robot used for bomb disposal was used to check the body in the street. Photographs went viral on social media.
This incident comes a year after the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine by jihadists and French President Francois Hollande’s new promise to hire 5,000 more police in an “unprecedented” effort to strengthen French security.
The police station in the 18th district, in northern Paris, was on lockdown as witnesses and police sources spoke with the media.
Two French officials say the man had wires extending from his clothing, adding that a specialist explosives squad is on site. One witness said he had heard “two or three shots” shortly before the man was on the ground.
Islamist militant brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi entered Charlie Hebdo’s Paris offices and killed 11 people.
Two days later, Amedy Coulibaly, a friend of the Kouachi brothers, killed four and held more than a dozen people hostage at a kosher supermarket in Paris.
This week sees a number of memorial ceremonies held across Paris and France to honor the total of 17 victims who were killed in the attacks last January.