Armed police have shot and killed a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State, who had killed three people during a shooting spree in southern France.
The man, named by authorities as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, is believed to be a Moroccan national.
The spree began at Carcassonne when Lakdim hijacked a car, killing one passenger and killing the driver, before driving towards Trèbes. En route, he shot at a group police officers out jogging, injuring one, before finally arriving at the Super U supermarket in Trèbes, where he opened fire and attempted to take hostages.
During the hostage situation, police say he demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the most significant surviving suspect from the Paris attacks on the 13 November 2015, which killed 130 people.
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said that all signs pointed towards the incident being a “terrorist act” and paid tribute to the “heroism and courage” of a lieutenant-colonel of the Gendarmerie, who took the place of one of the hostages and sustained serious injuries.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised to the quick reactions of the emergency services and said he would return to Paris from Brussels to coordinate the country’s response.
The incident is the first major jihadist attack since the election of Macron in May last year, but the latest in a series of terror attacks that have struck France in recent years, which have left hundreds of people dead across the country.
