France ups security after 3 attacks in 3 days
Iran Press TV
Tue Dec 23, 2014 3:50PM GMT
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says Paris is stepping up security nationwide following three successive unrelated bloody attacks.
Valls made the announcement in a televised appearance on Tuesday after he held an emergency meeting with his ministers, following three separate attacks in as many days.
The prime minister added that 200 to 300 soldiers were to be deployed across the country in the coming hours and the number of patrols would be increased during the Christmas period.
In addition, Valls stressed that there were no links between the recent attacks, saying they were not terrorist acts. Valls also urged the French to remain calm.
The latest attack took place on Monday when a man rammed his car into a Christmas market in the western city of Nantes, killing at least one person and injuring nine others before stabbing himself numerous times in the chest, causing himself serious injuries.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve reported that the attacker appeared "unbalanced" and had not been motivated by politics or religion.
A day earlier, another driver ploughed into pedestrians in the eastern city of Dijon, injuring 13 people. According to a local prosecutor, the assailant has a history of mental illness, with a recorded 157 visits to psychiatric hospitals.
The initial incident took place on December 20 when a man reportedly attacked three policemen with a knife in Joue-les-Tours, a suburb of the city of Tours in central France, before being shot dead.
The attacks have raised concerns about attacks by citizens who return home after fighting alongside ISIL Takfiri militants.
According to official reports, some 1,200 French citizens or residents cooperate with extremist networks in Iraq and Syria.
CAH/HMV/SS
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