dpa, Hamburg, Germany
PARIS — An inmate at a prison in north-western France was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly stabbing two corrections officers with a knife.
Polie elite forces took the man and his female partner into custody late Tuesday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Twitter.
The woman later died, broadcaster Franceinfo reported, citing anti-terror prosecutor Remy Heitz.
French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet spoke of a terrorism-motivated incident during a press conference on Tuesday. Anti-terrorism prosecutors have taken over the investigation.
Belloubet said the prisoner and his partner had lingered in a special family section of the prison in Conde-sur-Sarthe on Tuesday morning before they attacked the two officers with a ceramic knife. The officers were not in critical condition, she said.
The attacker is serving a 30-year prison sentence for unlawful detention resulting in death and the aggrandizement of terror.
According to Heitz, the prisoner wanted to avenge the death of Strasbourg Christmas market attacker Cherif Chekatt with his act on the officers, reportedly yelling out “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”).
Five people were killed and several injured when Chekatt carried out a gun and knife rampage at the market in Strasbourg on December 11. Chekatt was shot dead by police two days later, with the Islamic State extremist group claiming responsibility for the attack.
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