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Eleven hurt as man drives van into Christmas market in Nantes Eleven hurt as man drives van into Christmas market in Nantes
(about 1 hour later)
Eleven people were hurt, five seriously, when a van drove into a Christmas market in France. At least 10 people were injured on Monday evening when a man drove a van into a crowded Christmas market in Nantes, western France. Five people including the driver suffered serious injuries and one of the victims was in a critical state, police said.
The driver of the white Peugeot was among those seriously injured in the incident in the main square in the western city of Nantes. After mowing down shoppers and passers-by in the popular square in the centre of the city, the driver stabbed himself several times with a knife, according to the interior ministry.
Speaking on French television, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the driver "deliberately crashed into the crowd." A ministry spokesman said it was too early to determine the man's motives. Nantes prosecutor Brigitte Lamy told reporters on the scene that he had made no religious claim and appeared to have acted alone.
Witnesses and a police officer said that the driver shouted "Allah Akbar", according to France-Ouest. Local newspaper Ouest France reported, citing a police officer and witnesses, that the driver shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic). But several witnesses denied to the news agency Reuters that he uttered those words.
French officials had called for vigilance but warned against jumping to conclusions after a pair of weekend attacks - one in which a driver ran down 13 bystanders in Dijon, and another in which a recent convert to Islam knifed police officers. The incident comes a day after a man rammed his car into crowds of pedestrians in the eastern city of Dijon, injuring at least 11 people and shouting “Allahu Akbar".
The driver in Dijon, who had a history of psychological problems, was arrested following the attack in the city in eastern France, while the assailant who stabbed the officers outside the city of Tours was shot to death by police. None of the victims died. According to a state prosecutor, the man had a long history of severe mental illness and no links to terrorism. Marie-Christine Tarrare said the man, aged 40, had been admitted to hospital for psychiatric problems 157 times since 2001.
The prosecutor in Dijon said the driver behind that attack has a long history of severe mental illness and no links to terrorism. On Saturday a man was shot after he stabbed and wounded three police officers in central France while yelling the same words.
The man, who is 40, has admitted his role in the attack. He has been in hospital 157 times for psychiatric problems since 2001. France is on high alert for attacks on its soil following calls from Islamic State (Isis) militants to target the citizens of countries attacking Isis positions in Iraq.
The French-born son of North African immigrants, he acted alone and had no religious motivation, but was upset at the treatment of Chechen children.
He shouted "God is great" to give himself courage to act, and not out of religious belief, it is understood.
The suspect was arrested. Eight people remain in hospital.
Counter-terrorist police are investigating the attack on police in a suburb of Tours on Saturday, which left two officers seriously injured and a third with light injuries.
The attacker, who was killed by police, was a 20-year-old from Burundi named Bertrand. Police believe he was drawn to radical Islam several years ago by his 19-year-old brother Brice, who has been detained for questioning by police in Burundi.
PA