A bearded attacker wearing an "Arab-style" garment stabbed a French soldier in the neck as he was patrolling a business area of western Paris on Saturday, according to reports. The unidentified man, believed to be of North African origin, quickly fled the scene.
A manhunt is currently underway.
Police officers stand near the cordoned off spot where a French soldier was stabbed in the throat in the busy commercial district of La Defense, outside Paris, Saturday May 25, 2013, and France's president said authorities are investigating any possible links with the recent slaying of a British soldier. (Credit: AP)
"The soldier, patrolling as part of France's Vigipirate anti-terrorist surveillance plan, was injured in the stabbing around 1800 p.m. but would survive, the source said," Reuters reports.
It was the French daily Le Parisien that first reported police as saying the suspected attacker was a bearded man of North African origin, about 30-years-old and was wearing an Arab-style garment under his jacket.
Police officers stand near the cordoned off spot where a French soldier was stabbed in the throat in the busy commercial district of La Defense, outside Paris, Saturday May 25, 2013, and France's president said authorities are investigating any possible links with the recent slaying of a British soldier. (Credit: AP)
The latest attack comes just days after two men killed soldier Lee Rigby by hacking his body with knives and a meat cleaver in front of dozens of passersby on Wednesday in the southeast London district of Woolwich. The horrific scene was recorded on witnesses' cellphones, and a video has emerged showing one of the two suspects making political statements and warning of more violence as the soldier lay on the ground.
(H/T: HuffPost)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
