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| Police collect evidence at the site where a driver shouting |
A driver rammed a vehicle into pedestrians in the French city of
Dijon on Sunday, reportedly shouting "God is great" in Arabic as he
did so.
The incident came a day after a man stabbed
three police officers in central France while allegedly calling out the same
phrase.
At least 12 people were injured by the
vehicle, said police in Dijon, a city in eastern France. A man has been
arrested in connection with the case, they said.
Eyewitnesses heard the driver shout the
phrase "Allahu Akbar" -- Arabic for "God is great."
The incident took place after a man entered a
police station Saturday in the suburbs of Tours, in central France, and stabbed
three police officers before police shot and killed him.
That assailant also
reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar."
The severity of the state'
The stabbing attack is
being investigated by French counter-terrorism authorities.
French Prime Minister
Manuel Valls acknowledged those affected by the violence.
"Support for the
gravely injured and shocked police officers in Tours," he wrote on
Twitter. "Those who attack them will have to face up to the severity of
the state."
Regarding Dijon, he voiced
"solidarity" with the victims and support for their families.
Concerns over 'lone wolf' attacks
The events come amid
concerns in the West about so-called "lone wolf" attacks by Islamic
extremists influenced by the terrorist group ISIS.
ISIS, which controls large
areas of Iraq and Syria, has called for attacks against civilians in Western
countries. France is part of the coalition of countries that has been carrying
out strikes against ISIS targets.
Last week, a gunman with extremist Muslim views took
people hostage in a cafe in Sydney. The siege ended with the deaths of two
hostages and the gunman.
Australia is also in the coalition against
ISIS, and the country's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the hostage taker had
"sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the (ISIS) death
cult."
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