France deploys 7,000 soldiers following "Islamist" attack on teacher

Paris: France is set to deploy 7,000 soldiers after a teacher was fatally stabbed by a Chechen-origin man in the northeastern town of Arras, with three other adults severely wounded, as announced by the Elysee presidential palace on Saturday.

This attack, which occurred on Friday, has been condemned by President Emmanuel Macron as an act of "Islamist terror." Arras is notable for its significant Jewish and Muslim populations.

The soldier deployment is scheduled to be completed by Monday evening.

France, in response to the attack, has elevated its alert level to the highest position, a decision made during a crucial security meeting convened by President Macron on Friday. Macron disclosed that security forces had thwarted a separate "attempted attack" in another region.

After visiting the school in Arras, he remarked that the institution had experienced the brutality of Islamist terrorism. He commended the victim for his courage, suggesting that the teacher had likely saved many lives by attempting to block the assailant, reported AFP.

The suspected attacker, identified as Mohammed Moguchkov, is in his twenties and was subsequently apprehended by the police. Moguchkov hails from the predominantly Muslim southern Caucasus region of Chechnya in Russia. He was already listed on a French national register referred to as "Fiche S," signifying him as a potential security threat. Additionally, he was under both electronic and physical surveillance by France's domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI.

Preliminary elements of the investigation revealed that Moguchkov cried out the Arabic phrase "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest) during the attack.