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PHOTOS: Reuters
Three people were killed in a knife attack on a church in the French city of Nice. Two of the victims died inside the Notre Dame Basilica. Police say a woman was beheaded. There were also injuries in the attack, including a police officer. This was announced on Twitter by the mayor of the city Christian Estrozi.
According to initial information, one person was arrested. The motive for the attack is unknown at this time.
The French Interior Minister admitted that it was a terrorist attack. A large-scale police operation is underway in the area and authorities have urged citizens to avoid the area.
Estrozi mentioned that the church clergyman was among the dead. “After the murder at the school, now the Islamic-fascist barbarism has decided to hit a church, it is a symbol,” said the mayor of Nice.
The French Bishops’ Conference condemned the attack and expressed the hope that “Christians do not become targets of assassinations.” The attack was also condemned by the French Council of Muslims.
Police with automatic weapons cordoned off the area around the church, ambulances and fire trucks arrived at the scene, BTA reported.
Earlier this month, a Chechen beheaded French teacher Samuel Patti in the Paris area. The attacker, who was shot by the police, wanted to punish Patti because she showed cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in a social and legal class, which is blasphemous to Muslims. After Patty’s murder, French officials and many citizens supported the right to publish such cartoons, which were used in marches in memory of the murdered teacher, Reuters recalls.
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