Knife attack at French church three dead, a woman beheaded
Police said three people were confirmed to have died and several injured in the knife attack at French church. A police source said a woman was decapitated. French politician Marine Le Pen also spoke of a decapitation having occurred in the attack.
A source at the scene said police armed with automatic weapons had put up a security cordon around the church. The church is on Nice’s Jean Medecin Avenue, the city’s main shopping thoroughfare. Ambulances and fire service vehicles were also at the scene.
The attack comes while France is still reeling from the beheading earlier this month of French middle school teacher Samuel Paty in Paris by a man of Chechen origin. The attacker had said he wanted to punish Paty for showing pupils sketches of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a civics lesson.
It was not immediately clear what the motive was for the Nice attack, or if there was any connection to the blasphemous sketches. Since Paty’s killing, French officials — backed by many citizens — have re-asserted the right to display the sketches. The images have been widely displayed at marches in solidarity with the killed teacher.
That has prompted an outpouring of anger in parts of the Muslim world. Some governments are accusing French leader Emmanuel Macron of pursuing an anti-Islam agenda.
Prime Minister Imran Khan
Prime Minister Imran Khan denounced Macron’s remarks on blasphemous caricatures, calling them “encouragement of Islamophobia”.
He was referring to comments made by President Macron in which he criticized Islamists. He vowed not to “give up cartoons” depicting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
“By attacking Islam, clearly without having any understanding of it, President Macron has attacked and hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe and across the world.” Said Prime Minister Imran, adding that “the last thing the world wants or needs is further polarisation”.
He also asked social media giant Facebook to place a ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam just as it had placed on the Holocaust.
