ISIS claims responsibility for new Paris attack

ISIS claims responsibility for new Paris attack

ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack in Paris that occurred overnight, killing a police officer and leaving two more injured.

Per Nine News, the attack happened on the central Parisian boulevard of Champs Elysees, when a gunman open fired on officers after stopping next to a stationary police car around 9pm local time (5am AEST).

Per Nine News, France’s Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the suspect used “a weapon of war” – believed to be an automatic weapon.

“A man immediately got out and opened fire on the police car, fatally wounding a police officer … He also wounded a second one, it would seem very seriously,” he said.

The gunman was subsequently shot dead by authorities.

The Champs Elysees boulevard, usually bustling with tourists and Parisians, was blocked by armed police and metro stations in the area were closed.

ISIS claimed on its Amaq news agency that the attacker – of Belgian descent and known to police as an extremist – was a man by the name of “Abu Yusuf al-Beljiiki”.

Per The Australian, Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told The Associated Press that the attacker targeted police guarding the area near the Franklin Roosevelt subway station at the centre of the avenue, an area typically filled with tourists.

Authorities are advising people to steer clear of the area. (Twitter)

France is currently in a state of emergency, with the highest possible level of alert since a number of terror attacks began unfolding in 2015, and has seen 230 people killed in total.

Per The Oz, there are thousands of troops and armed police guarding tourist hotspots such as the Champs Elysees and other potential targets like government buildings and religious sites.

The incident recalled two recent attacks on soldiers providing security at the Louvre museum in February and Orly Airport last month.

It also comes three days ahead of France’s first round of balloting for its presidential election, and per The Oz, tensions are high, with police claiming to have stopped another potential terror attack on Tuesday.

Image credit: AP Thibault Camus

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]