Police shot dead man on Charlie Hebdo anniversary

AFP, PARIS: French police shot dead a knife-wielding man Thursday as he attacked a police station in Paris, a year to the day since jihadist gunmen killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo newspaper.
The man reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) and was wearing what appeared to be an explosives vest although it was later found to be a fake, police and government sources said.
News of the attack came just after President Francois Hollande concluded a sombre speech at police headquarters to mark the anniversary of the killings at Charlie Hebdo’s offices on January 7, 2015.
“On Thursday morning, a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police,” interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. Explosives experts were deployed to the scene in the multi-ethnic Goutte d’Or district, close to the Gare du Nord international station.
The man was found to have been wearing a pouch under his coat with a wire hanging from it, but the device “contained no explosives”, a source close to the investigation told AFP.
With France also still grieving after the massacre of 130 people by jihadists in Paris in November, Hollande used his speech to call for greater cooperation between the security services.
“Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every service—police, gendarmerie, intelligence, military—work in perfect harmony, with the greatest transparency, and that they share all the information at their disposal,” the president said.
Many of the jihadists in both January’s rampage and the attacks in November were known to French security services, having either travelled abroad to fight with extremists or been prevented from doing so.

Police shot dead man on Charlie Hebdo anniversary

AFP, PARIS: French police shot dead a knife-wielding man Thursday as he attacked a police station in Paris, a year to the day since jihadist gunmen killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo newspaper. The man reportedly shouted Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) and was wearing what appeared to be an explosives vest although it was later found to be a fake, police and government sources said. News of the attack came just after President Francois Hollande concluded a sombre speech at police headquarters to mark the anniversary of the killings at Charlie Hebdos offices on January 7, 2015. On Thursday morning, a man attempted to attack a policeman at the reception of the police station before being hit by shots from the police, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. Explosives experts were deployed to the scene in the multi-ethnic Goutte dOr district, close to the Gare du Nord international station. The man was found to have been wearing a pouch under his coat with a wire hanging from it, but the device contained no explosives, a source close to the investigation told AFP. With France also still grieving after the massacre of 130 people by jihadists in Paris in November, Hollande used his speech to call for greater cooperation between the security services. Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every servicepolice, gendarmerie, intelligence, militarywork in perfect harmony, with the greatest transparency, and that they share all the information at their disposal, the president said. Many of the jihadists in both Januarys rampage and the attacks in November were known to French security services, having either travelled abroad to fight with extremists or been prevented from doing so.