A policeman holds a military jacket covered with blood at the scene in Montauban where three French soldiers were shot dead. Photograph: Eric Cabanis/AFP/Getty
Investigators fear an assassin (Al-Qaïda's lone wolf) on a scooter is targeting French soldiers after two were killed and a third seriously injured in a "ride-by" shooting, the second attack in less than a week.
The three members of a parachute regiment were shot in a busy town centre on Thursday afternoon. Two died on the spot, while the third was reported to be in a critical condition in hospital.
The attack followed the murder last weekend of an officer in another parachute regiment, shot in a similar manner by a motorcycle gunman.
The soldiers, all in their 20s and wearing uniform, were standing by a cash machine in Montauban, south-west France. Police who sealed off the town centre before investigating said that it was unclear whether the three were withdrawing money, or had left a nearby shop or restaurant and were passing by when they came under a fusilade of shots shortly after 2pm, heard by people nearby. The killer, who was wearing a full-face helmet, then rode off on a scooter; more than a dozen spent cartridges were found at the scene.
The men were serving in the 17th Parachute Regiment, which has done tours of duty in Afghanistan, Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia, and is based at a barracks very near the attack.
The three members of a parachute regiment were shot in a busy town centre on Thursday afternoon. Two died on the spot, while the third was reported to be in a critical condition in hospital.
The attack followed the murder last weekend of an officer in another parachute regiment, shot in a similar manner by a motorcycle gunman.
The soldiers, all in their 20s and wearing uniform, were standing by a cash machine in Montauban, south-west France. Police who sealed off the town centre before investigating said that it was unclear whether the three were withdrawing money, or had left a nearby shop or restaurant and were passing by when they came under a fusilade of shots shortly after 2pm, heard by people nearby. The killer, who was wearing a full-face helmet, then rode off on a scooter; more than a dozen spent cartridges were found at the scene.
The men were serving in the 17th Parachute Regiment, which has done tours of duty in Afghanistan, Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia, and is based at a barracks very near the attack.
Toulouse police have not said if they suspect a link with the shooting of three French soldiers last week. Photograph: Frederic Lancelot/AP
At least four people, including three children, have died after a lone wolf on a motorcycle opened fire outside a jewish school in the French city of Toulouse on Monday morning.
One witness indicated that a gunman opened fire outside the Ozar Hatorah school in the southern French city before fleeing on the back of a black scooter.
Five people were injured in the attack, which occurred at around 8.15am, as students were arriving for morning classes at the private secondary school.
Koeffar Agencies
One witness indicated that a gunman opened fire outside the Ozar Hatorah school in the southern French city before fleeing on the back of a black scooter.
Five people were injured in the attack, which occurred at around 8.15am, as students were arriving for morning classes at the private secondary school.
It was not immediately clear whether police were linking the attack to a series of "ride-by" shootings of soldiers in the area last week, in which three paratroopers were killed in two incidents by a gunman who made a getaway on a motorbike.
Luc Escodat, of the police union Alliance, told iTele TV that one of the two weapons used in the school attack was similar to that used in last week's attacks on soldiers.Koeffar Agencies
