Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


France Reels From Latest Terror Attack

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - France is reeling from its latest terrorist attack -- the
   gruesome decapitation of Paris-area teacher Samuel Paty days after he
   showed his class controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Media
   identify the suspect as Abdoulakh A., an 18-year-old immigrant born in
   Moscow and of Chechen origin. Authorities say they shot him minutes
   after the attack.

   The attacker asked students in the street to point out the victim,
   Paty, counterterror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said Saturday.
   Speaking at a news conference, Ricard also noted the attacker posted a
   photo of the teacher's body on Twitter, with a note saying he had
   carried out the killing.

   Friday's attack marked yet another strike on France, less than a month
   after a man brutally stabbed two people in front of the former offices
   of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine. Once again, the government is
   treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

   Several people are being held for questioning, including members of the
   suspect's family.

   Police shot and killed the alleged assailant, who reportedly had yelled
   "Allahu akbar" -- "God is great," shortly after they found the
   decapitated body of the middle school history teacher near his school
   in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Saint-Honorine. The suspect reportedly
   lived in Normandy, far from where the attack took place.

   In the gruesome Twitter posting, the man said he killed his victim for
   having shown Charlie Hebdo's mocking cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad
   to his class. Those same cartoons triggered a series of terrorist
   attacks in January 2015. A trial over them is going on in Paris.

   Speaking late Friday, President Emmanuel Macron said the killing bore
   the markings of an Islamist terror strike. He said those trying to
   attack free expression would not win.

.