Tunisia has opened an investigation into the man suspected of stabbing three people to death in an Islamist attack in the French city of Nice on Thursday, according to a judiciary official. The suspect is reportedly Tunisian.
Two people were killed inside the Catholic Notre Dame church in Nice, and a third person escaped but later died from their injuries. The alleged attacker, who is in police custody, has been identified by AFP as Brahim Aouissaoui, a 21-year-old Tunisian man.
Tunisian media reported that the suspect is from the northeastern city of Bouhajla and illegally entered into France from Italy earlier this month.
An inquiry has now been launched by the Public Prosecutor of the Judicial Pole for Combating Terrorism in Tunisia, judiciary official Mohsen Dali confirmed.
He said the office had “opened a forensic investigation into the suspicion that a Tunisian committed a terrorist operation abroad.”
Visiting Nice in the wake of the triple murder on Thursday and after convening the French defense council, President Emmanuel Macron said his country was “under attack” and he pledged to deploy thousands of extra soldiers to protect key sites such as churches.
Operation ‘Sentinel’ will see the number of soldiers increased from 3,000 to 7,000, including in schools and places of worship.
“This morning we decided to increase the posture of vigilance throughout France to adapt to the terrorist threat,” Macron told the media.
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