The Nice Attack in France: More arrests, tightened security

On Thursday morning, a knifeman went inside the Notre-Dame Basilica in the southern city of Nice before the first Mass of the day and killed three people inside. This is the third such attack in France in the last two months, including the beheading of a teacher. Out of three killed, two were women and one was a man. One of them, a 60-year-old woman who has not been named, was "virtually beheaded" close to the font, according to the French chief anti-terrorism prosecutor.

After the republishing of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad by the Charlie Hebdo magazine, there's been an increase in terrorist attacks. Prophet Muhammad is highly revered by Muslims and they see the caricatures as highly offensive.

According to various news agencies, the attacker has been identified as Brahim Issaoui, 21, who arrived in the city the night before the attack. The French counter-terrorism prosecutor investigating the attack said the attacker is a Tunisian citizen born in 1999. The attacker entered the Church of France with a copy of the Quran in his hand and a knife and then killed three people. 

While being apprehended by the police, the suspect was shot multiple times. He is hospitalized right now and is in serious condition. Witnesses said the attacker repeatedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" before being shot by police. According to French chief anti-terrorist prosecutor Jean-François Ricard, the police found a Koran, two telephones, and a 30cm (12-inch) knife found on him. Investigators think that Issaoui traveled illegally to Europe on 20th September via Italy’s Mediterranean island of Lampedusa and then reached Paris on 9th October.

President Emmanuel Macron described this stabbing as an "Islamist terrorist attack". As for the said offensive caricatures, he said, "I understand the feelings this stirs, I respect them. But I want you to understand my role: my role is to calm things down as I’m doing here, and to protect those rights."

So far, the police have made two new arrests in the probe into this attack. Authorities are in the process of questioning six people to check if they were linked to Tunisian Brahim Issaoui. France has raised its national security alert to the highest level.

This whole incident has also led to the Delhi police tightening the security of the French Embassy which is located on Shanti Path near Panchsheel Marg in Chanakyapuri. After the attack in Saudi Arabia, the police have increased the security of other institutions and areas where French people live or work in case there is another such attack.