Islamic Terror Attack Leaves Two Women Dead in France

Bryan Michalek | October 2, 2017
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In even more tragic news, two young women were killed in a terror attack at a train station in the southern port city of Marseille, France on Sunday. Although authorities have not confirmed a link between the now deceased suspect and the Islamic State, the terror group has claimed responsibility and the attacker was reportedly heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is great") during the brutal stabbings.

The two victims, ages 17 and 20, were reportedly cousins who were visiting Marseille to celebrate a birthday. One of the women, reportedly named Laura, had been working on her second year of a nursing degree at a university in Lyon, France while her cousin Mauranne was also a medical student studying at a university in Marseille.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, but investigators are still looking for a concrete connection.

The suspect had been reportedly stopped by police on Sept. 29 on suspicion of robbery and had given authorities a Tunisian passport upon the stop, according to a Reuters report. Due to a lack of evidence, police released the suspect the next day, just one day before the attack. 

Paris public prosecutor Francois Molins said at a news conference that the suspect, who was killed by a French soldier during the attack, had been arrested for multiple crimes since 2005 and had used seven different identities. Molins also told reporters that the suspect had never shown up in French anti-terrorism checklists. 

Authorities are still trying to confirm the true identity of the suspect. Molins did not confirm or deny the involvement of the Islamic State, though the attacker's reported final words suggest that radical Islamism played a part in the killer's motivation.  

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed outrage on Twitter over the incident, praising the Operation Sentinelle soldiers who put down the attacker, saying "I hail the Operation Sentinelle soldier and the police forces who reacted with extreme calmness and efficiency."

France has witnessed a series of radical Islamic terror attacks over the last few years, including the coordinated attacks that took the lives of several people in November 2015. 

A silent march is planned for this Monday evening to honor the two women who lost their lives. 

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