Suspected IS gunman takes hostages in France

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PARIS: A gunman claiming allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group fired shots and took hostages at a supermarket in southwestern France on Friday, a local prosecutor said.

Security forces were responding to two separate incidents, one at a supermarket in the town of Trebes and the second, a 15-minute drive away, in the town of Carcassonne where a policeman was shot. It was unclear if the two incidents were linked. In Trebes, the man “entered the Super U supermarket at around 11: 15 am and shots were heard,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The gunman claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, the local prosecutor’s office said. Local authorities tweeted that the area was off-limits to the public. If the link to Islamic State is confirmed, the attack would be the first major incident since the election of centrist President Emmanuel Macron in May last year.

The town’s mayor confirmed that there were two victims of the attacker but their health condition is currently unknown.  La Depeche du midi newspaper reports one person has died.
All the other hostages are now free, Mayor Eric Ménassi told BFM TV, and that the hostage taker was now alone with one police officer .

 

1 COMMENT

  1. It is no wonder the civilized world is coming together to take on Islamic extremism. No wonder Pakistan never gets audience these days in any world capital. I am certain Kashmir is the lost cause as slowly ISIS flags are seen in the valley. Which sane country will support Pakistan and Muslims on Kashmir issue? At least no democratically elected leader will be seen supporting any conflict that is participated by ISIS kind organizations. Pakistanis need to now decide of it makes sense to keep fighting this senseless war that has not given anything to the country but only grief and extreme poverty. There is 2 Billion USD budget gap and the PM is asking friendly countries to bail out Pakistan. At the same time we see such a huge defense expenditure in order to keep up with India whose economy is 10 times bigger than Pakistan’s. At this rate the country will become failed state like Afghanistan or Syria.

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