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| Man shot and killed at Marseille train station after attacking people with knife | Man shot and killed at Marseille train station after attacking people with knife |
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| A man has been shot and killed by French soldiers at a train station in Marseille after killing two women passengers, including one who had her throat slit. | A man has been shot and killed by French soldiers at a train station in Marseille after killing two women passengers, including one who had her throat slit. |
| A French police source has said the attack at Saint Charles station is being treated as a terrorist incident, with an unnamed official telling France's Le Monde newspaper the knife-weilding assailant cried “Allahu akbar” ("Allah is greater") as he slashed passengers. | A French police source has said the attack at Saint Charles station is being treated as a terrorist incident, with an unnamed official telling France's Le Monde newspaper the knife-weilding assailant cried “Allahu akbar” ("Allah is greater") as he slashed passengers. |
| Police said on Twitter they had "neutralised" the attacker and urged people to stay away from the area as they carried out an evacuation of the station in the southern French city. | Police said on Twitter they had "neutralised" the attacker and urged people to stay away from the area as they carried out an evacuation of the station in the southern French city. |
| The deaths of the passers-by were confirmed by police chief Olivier de Mazieres, who told AFP: "Two victims have died by knife." | The deaths of the passers-by were confirmed by police chief Olivier de Mazieres, who told AFP: "Two victims have died by knife." |
| Both passengers killed as they waited on the platform were woman, according to France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who said on Twitter he was heading to the scene immediately after news of the atrocity broke. | Both passengers killed as they waited on the platform were woman, according to France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, who said on Twitter he was heading to the scene immediately after news of the atrocity broke. |
| The attack took place in the early afternoon, with witnesses on social media speaking of a panic and a shooting as military forces intervened and police flooded the area. | The attack took place in the early afternoon, with witnesses on social media speaking of a panic and a shooting as military forces intervened and police flooded the area. |
| French newspaper Le Figaro reported the mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin paid tribute to the Sentinelle military forces who gunned down the assailant "at a time when the number of victims could have been higher." | French newspaper Le Figaro reported the mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin paid tribute to the Sentinelle military forces who gunned down the assailant "at a time when the number of victims could have been higher." |
| France has been hit by a recent wave of terrorist atrocities carried out by Islamist extremists, including stabbings, shootings and lorry attacks which have now killed at least 241 people since 2015. | |
| The French government launched Operation Sentinelle in January 2015 following a string of fatal attacks in and around Paris, deploying 10,000 soldiers and 4,700 police and gendarmes tp protect "sensitive" which authorities thought could be targets for terrorists. | The French government launched Operation Sentinelle in January 2015 following a string of fatal attacks in and around Paris, deploying 10,000 soldiers and 4,700 police and gendarmes tp protect "sensitive" which authorities thought could be targets for terrorists. |
| Transport hubs, tourist attractions and religious buildings were all put under armed guard under the huge operation. | Transport hubs, tourist attractions and religious buildings were all put under armed guard under the huge operation. |
| The Saint Charles station was the scene of an acid attack last month, when a woman threw a corosive substance at a group of American tourists, although authorities said it was mental-health related and not a terrorist attack. | The Saint Charles station was the scene of an acid attack last month, when a woman threw a corosive substance at a group of American tourists, although authorities said it was mental-health related and not a terrorist attack. |
| More follows… | More follows… |