India stands with France in fight against terrorism’: PM Modi condemns Nice knife attack
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned the attacks in France, including the one in Nice where three people were killed inside a church. A man armed with a knife attacked two women and a man at the Notre Dame Basilica in the southern city of Nice on Thursday morning before he was shot by police.
“I strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks in France, including today’s heinous attack in Nice inside a church. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the people of France. India stands with France in the fight against terrorism,” PM Modi tweeted.
French prime minister Jean Castex said that the country would raise its alert level to “emergency” in response to the attack, which comes during tensions over the re-publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Officials said a woman was beheaded and two others were killed by the knife-wielding attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar” in a suspected terrorist act at the Nice church. Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, who described the attack as terrorism, said on Twitter it had happened in or near Notre Dame church and was similar to the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty in an attack this month in the French capital of Paris. Estrosi said the attacker had repeatedly shouted the phrase “Allahu Akbar” or God is Greater, even after he had been detained by the police.
One of the people killed inside the church was believed to be the church warden, Estrosi said. “The suspected knife attacker was shot by police while being detained, he is on his way to the hospital, he is alive,” Estrosi told reporters. “Enough is enough. It’s time now for France to exonerate itself from the laws of peace in order to definitively wipe out Islamo-fascism from our territory,” he added.
According to police, the three people were confirmed to have died in the attack and several were injured. The French anti-terrorist prosecutor’s department said it had been asked to investigate. The attack came on a day celebration are being held on the holiday of Mawlid, the birthday of Prophet Mohammad.
