Three people were killed in a knife attack in Nice, France, according to local police.
The attack was committed near a church, as reported by local media, with an unspecified number of injured.
A police source, as reported by kathimerini.gr, said that a woman had been beheaded.
According to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, a police operation is under way in Nice and the investigation has been undertaken by the French Counter-Terrorism Unit.
According to the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, a person was arrested after the incident, with the suspect being hospitalized. He expressed the assessment that this was a terrorist attack, while he added that the suspect mentioned the phrase “Allahu Akbar” and announced that the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, is going to Nice.
The knife attack in Nice was carried out in the shadow of the assassination – in a jihadist attack on October 16 – of French history professor Samuel Patty, who had presented sketches of Mohammed during a freedom of expression class.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, defended the freedom of expression after the assassination of the professor.
In the Muslim world, the faithful have reacted by staging demonstrations against the statements and attitude of the French president, while in many countries boycott campaigns of French products have begun.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also called for a boycott of French products, with Ankara-Paris relations in crisis following statements by Erdoğan, who questioned the French president’s mental health.
This was followed by the publication of a sketch by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which depicts the Turkish president, with Ankara announcing “judicial and diplomatic” measures.