Live Updates: Two Separate Attacks With Perpetrators Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' Shake France

A Brazilian citizen was killed during the Thursday stabbing attack in the southern French city of Nice, Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo said.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of a 44-year-old Brazilian citizen, a mother of three children, who is one of the victims of the brutal attack committed by a terrorist at the Notre-Dame church in Nice,” Araujo wrote on his Twitter page on late Thursday.

French anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard confirmed on Thursday that the attacker in Nice was from Tunisia and had arrived in France on October 9.

Earlier, this was reported by a number of French media. Ricard noted that the attacker had documents of the Italian Red Cross in the name of a native of Tunisia born in 1999.

"According to the information we have, he entered Italy through the island of Lampedusa on September 20. He then arrived in Paris on October 9, 2020," Ricard said at a press conference on Thursday.

He said that at the moment, investigation was ongoing in order to establish the path that the attacker took, and also to find out whether he had accomplices.

The prosecutor also added that the perpetrator of the attack was not known to intelligence agencies.

Committing crimes in the name of Islam can not be justified, Abdallah Zekri, the director-general of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), told Sputnik.

"It is unacceptable to approve of such actions. Even the prophet, if he was alive, I do not think that he would have approved that someone was killed for his sake … Unfortunately, they kill in the name of our religion, and we become victims and hostages of these terrorists. And this is unacceptable," Zekri, who also heads the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) non-profit organization, said.

The unknown assailant who killed three people at a church in the French city of Nice earlier on Thursday was attempting to sour relations between the country's faith-based community groups, the imam of Nice, Abdelkader Sadouni, told Sputnik in an interview, adding that Christians, Muslims, and Jews in France should maintain their strong relations.

"I hope there will be no tensions. We must tell ourselves that French society is cosmopolitan, comprised of different religions - Jews, Muslims, Christians - that get along with each other very well. We cannot let this barbarian, who just tried to break these relations between the religions, [to do so]," Sadouni stated.

The imam said that the Christian community can expect to receive the support of their Muslim counterparts over the coming days following the brutal attack in the southern French city.

"It's an act of absolute horror, we are all mortified by what has happened. And we are now in a stage of recollection facing this unspeakably barbaric act which happened in our city today - just some meters away from our prayer room. And with all our hearts we are together with our Catholic friends and brothers, we are by their side, we share their pain and they can count on us," Sadouni stated.

Sources in the French law enforcement agencies believe the attacker to be a 21-year-old male of Tunisian origin. The assailant is said to have "almost beheaded" two of the victims during the attack at the Notre-Dame basilica, which has been described by French President Emmanuel Macron as an act of Islamist terrorism.

The leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said on Thursday that he denounces the deadly attacks in Nice and elsewhere in France and calls on the world to unite against extremism.

"The murder and beheading of Samuel Paty and the attack in Nice earlier today must be condemned in the strongest possible terms," Marsoor Ahmad said. "Such grievous attacks are completely against the teachings of Islam. Our religion does not permit terrorism or extremism under any circumstances and anyone who claims otherwise acts against the teachings of the Holy Quran and contrary to the noble character of the Holy Prophet of Islam."

Earlier on Thursday, an armed man killed three people and injured several others in a Christian cathedral in Nice. The attacker shouted "God is great" in Arabic during the attack and beheaded two of the victims, according to media reports. The attack in Nice was followed by a knife-stabbing attempt in France's southeastern city of Avignon and another at the French Consulate in Saudi Arabia.

Marsoor Ahmad said he extends the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s deepest sympathies to the loved ones of the victims and to the French nation.

"Let it be clear that our condemnation and hatred of such attacks is not something new but has always been our position and stance," he said.

Marsoor Ahmad noted that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and his successors have always rejected all forms of violence and bloodshed in the name of religion.

"The fallout from this heinous act has further exacerbated the tensions between the Islamic world and the West and between Muslims living in France and the rest of society," he said. "We consider this to be a source of deep regret and a means of further undermining the peace and stability of the world. We must all join together to root out all forms of extremism and to encourage mutual understanding and tolerance."

In addition, Marsoor Ahmad said the Ahmadiyya Muslim community members will spare no effort in their mission to foster a better understanding of the true and peaceful teachings of Islam in the world.

Muslims in Russia have condemned Thursday's terrorist attack in the French city of Nice that left three people dead, Mufti Albir Krganov, the head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of the Russian Federation, told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, an unknown assailant launched a terrorist attack at a church in Nice. Three people were stabbed to death in what French President Emmanuel Macron called an "Islamist terrorist attack." The suspect has been taken into custody.

"It is a tragedy when a murder occurs in a house of God, regardless of [religious] denomination. No one is allowed to do this, the Almighty forbids it. No one has the right to kill … We condemn this," Krganov remarked.

Thursday's attack took place following Macron's pledge to target radical Islam in the wake of the October 16 beheading of Samuel Paty, a history teacher based near Paris. Paty was killed after reportedly showing caricatures depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammad in class.

UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Miguel Moratinos strongly condemned the knife attack in Nice, France, which left at least three people dead, his spokesperson Nihal Saad said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, an armed man killed three people and injured several others in a Christina cathedral in Nice. The attacker shouted "God is great" in Arabic during the attack and beheaded two of the victims, according to media reports.

"The High Representative for the UNAOC, Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos, strongly condemns the barbaric attack that killed three people - two women and a man - at the Notre-Dame Basilica in the city of Nice on the southeast coast of France," Saad said.

Moratinos urged the international community to reject those who maliciously invoke religion to instigate division and hatred and called for mutual respect of all religions and faiths, the spokesperson said.

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said the police arrested the attacker who continued to shout even when he was seized and given medication.

Nice's attack was followed by a knife-stabbing attempt in France's southeastern city of Avignon and another at the French Consulate in Saudi Arabia.

Thursday's attack in a church in the French city of Nice may aggravate religious tensions in France, but not Nice itself, where religious communities know one another well, Gil Florini, the senior priest at Nice Centre, said.

Three people were killed in a knife attack in the church of Notre-Dame de Nice.  According to media reports, two of the victims died from beheading. The perpetrator was detained by the police. The anti-terrorism department of prosecutors has joined the investigation.

"In Nice, the community knows one another. I am speaking of an actual community, people who practice their religion, whether Jews, Muslims, Catholics, or Protestants, we often meet, so we know one another. So I don’t think the tensions will go out of control, because of this knowing [one another], this real relationship we have," Florini said, when asked if the latest attack could worsen religious tensions in France.

The religious communities in Nice are "pacified," but in the rest of the country, there are people who do not know one another that well, Florini said

"In Nice, a lot of effort has been made since a long time ago, for 20-30 years … to meet, to do things together ... There are always small tensions, but I don’t think there will be big ones," the priest said.

At the same time, there are people who remain outside of the community, Florini said.

“[The attacker] is definitely on his own. You know, the people who believe that God is speaking to them, who exercise the will of God, who are fanatics” the priest said.

Florini said he knew one of the victims personally.

“I knew Vincent, the two others, the women, no. They were two parishioners who came to pray. But I knew Vincent, the sacristan, who was a dad, had two daughters,” he said.

Nice's attack was followed by a knife-stabbing attempt in France's southeastern city of Avignon and another knife assault at the French Consulate in Saudi Arabia. Earlier in October, a school teacher was beheaded in a Parisian suburb after showing Muhammad cartoons at a lesson.

Devastating news from Nice, where a terrorist attack at a church claimed several lives. Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the victims. We stand in solidarity with the French people against violence and denounce these unjustifiable acts, which have no place in our society.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 29, 2020

The French police have detained a man armed with a knife who was planning an attack outside a church near Paris, similar to the one that happened earlier in the day in Nice, Le Parisien newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, the man was detained near the Saint-Martin church in the north-central commune of Sartrouville in the Ile-de-France region.

Earlier in the day, three people were killed in a knife attack at the Notre-Dame church in Nice. Two of those killed reportedly had their throats cut. The attacker was arrested.

L’assaillant de l’attentat de Nice est un tunisien arrivé il y a très peu de temps par Lampedusa.

Avec la crise sanitaire et sécuritaire, plus aucune entrée ne doit être tolérée !

Suspendons toutes les procédures d’asile et la délivrance de visa depuis les pays à risque !

— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) October 29, 2020

"The French embassy in Spain has reinforced measures to ensure the security of its subjects", the embassy said in a statement.

A man has been detained next to Saint-Martin's Church in Yvelines, France, after his father called the police, Le Parisien reported.

According to the report, the suspect told his father he wants "to do as it was done in Nice", before leaving home.

Der grausame Mord in #Nizza ist #Terror.

Wir stehen fest an der Seite unserer französischen Freundinnen und Freunde und denken in diesen schweren Stunden an die Opfer und ihre Angehörigen.

Radikaler Islamismus tötet und darf in unserer Gesellschaft keinen Platz haben.

— Heiko Maas 🇪🇺 (@HeikoMaas) October 29, 2020

"The kingdom categorically rejects such extremist acts, which contravene all religions ..., while stressing the importance of avoiding all practices which generate hatred, violence and extremism", the foreign ministry said in a statement published by the state news agency SPA.

The knife attacker from Nice has been questioned by French investigators, RTBF reported.
He told police that his name is "Brahim" and he is 25 years old, according to a source close to the investigation. However, his identity has not yet been formally established.

The man who attacked people inside the Notre-Dame basilica in the French city of Nice earlier on Thursday has Tunisian citizenship, the Nice-Matin newspaper reported, citing sources.

#nice pic.twitter.com/vbPlRkvpc7

— Nicolas Sarkozy (@NicolasSarkozy) October 29, 2020

Police intervention at Paris' Porte de La Chapelle has been cancelled after reports about a knife attack turned out to be false.

Earlier today, Sputnik's sources in the police said the emergency services had been dispatched to northern Paris after a knife attack.

I am close to the Catholic community of #Nice, mourning the attack that sowed death in a place of prayer and consolation. I pray for the victims, for their families and for the beloved French people, that they may respond to evil with good.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) October 29, 2020

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called it an "odious and brutal attack" and said the whole of Europe stood in solidarity with France and remained united and determined "in the face of barbarism and fanaticism". 

Pour la deuxième fois en peu de temps, la France est touchée par un abominable acte terroriste, cette fois à Nice. Nos pensées vont aux proches des victimes. À nos amis français nous disons : vous n’êtes pas seuls dans le combat contre l’extrémisme, les Pays-Bas sont à vos côtés.

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) October 29, 2020

Le Gouvernement vient de porter le plan Vigipirate au niveau urgence attentat sur l'ensemble du territoire.
Le président de la République a convoqué demain matin un Conseil de défense et de sécurité nationale.

— Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) October 29, 2020

Kanzlerin #Merkel: „Ich bin tief erschüttert über die grausamen Morde in einer Kirche in #Nizza. Meine Gedanken sind bei den Angehörigen der Ermordeten und bei den Verletzten. Der französischen Nation gilt in diesen schweren Stunden Deutschlands Solidarität.“

— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) October 29, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to the Interior Ministry's crisis centre following the deadly knife attack in Nice, BFMTV broadcaster reported on Thursday.

According to BFMTV, Macron will arrive in the crisis centre at 10:30 local time (09:30 GMT).

French police have shot dead a person in Avignon after he threatened people with a knife, shouting 'Allahu Akbar.'

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric on Thursday offered her condolences to the loved ones of the victims of a knife attack in the French city of Nice.

The mayor of the city confirmed that three people were dead in the attack on a church.

"The Secretary General of the Council of Europe in #Strasbourg expresses her compassion and solidarity with those close to the victims of today’s deadly attack in #Nice and with the French authorities and government," the Council of Europe said on Twitter.

President of European Parliament David Sassoli said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the news of the attack.

"We have a duty to stand together against violence and those that seek to incite and spread hatred," Sassoli said on Twitter.

French anti-terrorist prosecutors joined the investigation into Thursday's knife attack in the southern city of Nice, franceinfo broadcaster reported.

The probe will be led by the central department of the judiciary police and the General Directorate for Internal Security.