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Two dead in knife attack at Marseille train station

  (Agence France-Presse)
Marseille, France
Sun, October 1, 2017

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 Two dead in knife attack at Marseille train station This picture obtained on the twitter account of Stan Marcelja and taken on Oct. 1, 2017 shows French police and soldier on the stairs leading to the Saint-Charles main train station in Marseille, southern France, after a man armed with a knife killed two people. A man armed with a knife killed two people at the main train station before being shot by French soldiers patrolling there, local officials said. (Agence France -Presse/Stan Marcella/Twitter)

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suspected terrorist killed at least two people at the main train station in the French Mediterranean port city of Marseille on Sunday before being shot and killed by soldiers patrolling there, local officials and police said.

"Two victims have been stabbed to death," regional police chief Olivier de Mazieres told AFP, referring to the attack which occurred at 1:45 pm (1145 GMT).

Local prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said the knifeman had been killed by soldiers, while the Marseille police urged people in the city to avoid the area around Saint-Charles station in the bustling centre of the city.

The knifeman is believed to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) before assaulting passers-by, a source close to the investigation told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The deaths came with France still on high alert following a string of terror attacks since January 2015, when jihadist gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12.

The government has since launched Operation Sentinelle, deploying about 7,000 troops across the country to guard high-risk areas such as transport hubs, tourist sites and religious buildings.

After the stabbings in Marseille, anti-terror prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into "killings linked to a terrorist organisation" and the "attempted killing of a public official".

Attacks by extremists since 2015 have left 239 people dead in France, according to an AFP count before Sunday's incident.

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