An attacker armed with a knife beheaded one person and killed two others at a church in the French city of Nice on Thursday, said French police and officials.
The country was already on high alert for extremist violence amid tensions over caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad published by satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
French authorities have opened a terrorism investigation, and French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would more than double the number of soldiers deployed to protect against attacks – from approximately 3,000 to 7,000.
During the attack on Thursday, the assailant reportedly cried out “Allahu akbar” said Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi. The attacker, who was injured during arrest, was taken to a nearby hospital. He is believed to have been acting alone, said police officials.
There have been other recent attacks in France with links to the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. France has now raised its security threat level to the highest available.
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