A knife attack at the Notre-Dame basilica in the French city of Nice on Thursday left three people dead and several others injured
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) A knife attack at the Notre-Dame basilica in the French city of Nice on Thursday left three people dead and several others injured.
The suspect was arrested by security forces and hospitalized with a gunshot injury received during the police operation. According to Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi, the perpetrator continued to shout "Allahu Akbar" even when he was seized and put under medication. Two of those killed reportedly had their throats cut.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has opened a probe into the attack, which is to be led by the central department of the judiciary police jointly with the General Directorate for Internal Security.
On October 21, a gunman entered an office of the Bank of Georgia in the western Georgian city of Zugdidi and took hostages, demanding $500,000 in ransom money within two hours. As a result of a special operation launched by security forces, which lasted all day, 43 hostages were gradually released in exchange for police department director Avtandil Galdava. The assailant, along with the official and three other hostages, left the office in a police car. In the next morning, the remaining hostages were released, while the criminal fled. The Georgian Interior Ministry designated the incident a terrorist attack.
On October 16, French history teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in the commune of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine north of Paris by an 18-year-old Chechen teenager born in Moscow and identified as Abdullakh Anzorov. The attacker was chased down and shot dead by the police the same night. The killing came after 47-year-old Paty showed a cartoon depicting Islamic prophet Muhammad to his students during a freedom of speech lesson.
On July 21, 44-year-old Maksim Krivosh hijacked a bus with 20 passengers in the center of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine. The hostage-taker, who had explosives and weapons, put forward general demands and complained about the political system. In particular, he demanded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged citizens to watch the movie "Earthlings." After about 12 hours of the hostage crisis, the hijacker eventually released all hostages and was detained by the police.
Three people were killed and another three were injured on June 20 in a stabbing attack in the UK city of Reading perpetrated by a 25-year-old man of Libyan origin, Khairi Saadallah. The attacker was arrested and charged with murder the same day.
On February 19, an unknown assailant attacked two shisha bars in the German city of Hanau, killing nine people and injuring several others. The shooter was later found dead in his house alongside the body of his 72-year-old mother. Regional authorities said early findings indicated a xenophobic motive behind the attack.
A man stabbed several people in Streatham High Road, south London, on February 2. The suspected attacker was shot dead by armed officers. Police later said that three people had been injured in the incident, which was confirmed to be an Islamist terrorist attack.
A stabbing attack on several people near and on London Bridge took place in the UK capital on November 29. The suspect was shot dead on the spot, and the incident was classified as a terrorist attack. Two people later died as a result of their injuries. The attacker was a 28-year old man, Usman Khan, convicted in 2012 for terrorism offenses and released in December of 2018. The Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack.
A synagogue in the German city of Halle was attacked on October 9 during celebrations of Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the year in Judaism. Two people were killed � a 40-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man � and two others were injured. There were 51 people inside the synagogue at the moment of the attack. Stephan Balliet, a 27-year-old neo-Nazi German citizen who was behind the incident, was arrested and admitted that the attack was motivated by right-extremist ideology.
On May 24, an explosion hit the center of the French city of Lyon, claiming the lives of 13 people. According to surveillance camera footage, an unknown person who rode a bicycle to a bakery left a parcel. The attacker � a man of Algerian origin � was arrested on May 27. The attacker illegally arrived in France in 2018.
On December 11, an attacker opened fire close to the Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg. The gunman was identified by police as a local resident named Cherif Chekatt, 29, who was known to the law enforcement for previous multiple offenses. Later, the French interior minister confirmed that the suspected shooter had been killed by police. The attack left three people killed and 13 others injured.
Two people were killed and one was seriously wounded in a knife attack in the Paris suburb of Trappes on August 23. The attacker was killed in a police operation. According to the authorities, the perpetrator had serious psychological problems and was known to authorities as a supporter of extremist views. The IS claimed responsibility for the incident.
An attack on a police station took place in the Catalan municipality of Cornella de Llobregat near Barcelona on August 20. A man of Algerian origin, Abdelouahab Taib, entered the police station holding a large knife and shouting "Allahu Akbar." Law enforcement officers were forced to stop the offender by opening fire. None of the police officers were injured.
On August 14, a Ford Fiesta collided with several cyclists and pedestrians before crashing at high speed into a security fence outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Three people were injured in the incident. The driver, 29-year-old UK national of Sudanese origin Salih Khater, was arrested and charged with multiple attempted murders.
A man attacked and killed two female police officers in the Belgian city of Liege with a knife on May 29 and shot a passer-by dead before being neutralized by an anti-terror squad. According to media reports, the man, who was well-known to the police for theft, vandalism and small-time drug trafficking, was radicalized in the prison of Lantin. The IS claimed responsibility for the incident.
On May 12, a man, aged about 20 years old, stabbed people with a knife at the Paris Opera, killing one person and injuring four others. The man was killed at the scene by police. The IS claimed responsibility for the stabbing attack.
A series of attacks hit the southern French department of Audes on March 23. A 26-year-old Moroccan national, Redouane Lakdim, who reportedly obtained French citizenship in 2015, hijacked a car in the city of Carcassonne and then took several people hostage at a supermarket in Trebes. In total, Lakdim killed four people, including a police officer who swapped himself for a hostage and injured 15 others. The attacker was killed by police as they stormed the supermarket. The IS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
