French Police Require Actual Head as Evidence

The stabbing of a French soldier in Paris bore the hallmarks of Islamist terrorism and may have been inspired by the Woolwich attack, French officials have said.

Police are on the hunt for a bearded man aged about 35, possibly of North African origin, who fled into a crowded train station after attacking the soldier from behind.

"There are indeed elements that lead us to believe it could be an act of terrorism," Interior Minister Manuel Valls told France 5 television. He declined further comment citing the investigation.

The 23-year-old soldier survived the attack, carried out only days after Drummer Lee Rigby was hacked to death by two suspected Islamic extremists.
A spokesman for police union UNSA, Christophe Crepin, said there were similarities with the Woolwich attack.

"I think this person wanted to imitate what happened in London," he said.

His comment echoed remarks by the defence minister that the French soldier had been targeted because of his uniform.
President Francois Hollande and Mr Valls have both warned against jumping to conclusions about the attack.
However, Mr Valls did say that France faced a growing threat from an "enemy within", made up of Islamist radicals.

He said many of these radicals wanted to punish the country for sending troops to Mali to help drive back an offensive by Islamist rebels.

The soldier was with two colleagues patrolling the business area of La Defense as part of France's Vigipirate anti-terrorist surveillance strategy when he was approached from behind and attacked with a sharp metal object.

Earlier this month, Mr Hollande said France was taking seriously a call by al Qaeda's North African wing for Muslims worldwide to launch attacks against the country's interests over its military operation in Mali.

Last year, three French paratroopers were killed by a man police described as a French-born Islamic extremist who then went on to strike a Jewish school in the south of France, killing four more people.