Suspect in Attack on French Soldiers in Paris Arrested

Edouard Philippe, the Prime Minister of France, announced that the suspect in the attack on French soldiers in the suburbs of Paris has been arrested. According to Reuters, a vehicle fled the scene after running over a group of French soldiers in the suburbs of Paris on Wednesday, August 9, and the driver was apprehended after a chase on a highway outside Paris. French officials have stated that this incident resembles recent terrorist attacks in Europe. The Prime Minister told lawmakers on Wednesday afternoon, "The suspect who was the driver of the attacking vehicle has been arrested on the Paris highway to Boulogne-sur-Mer." Reuters reports that a correspondent from the agency saw a BMW vehicle with bullet marks on it on the 16A highway in northern France. According to Gerard Collomb, the French Minister of the Interior, the suspect ambushed soldiers who were patrolling on the sidewalk near the "Louvres-Pere" base and then ran them over at high speed. The "Louvres-Pere" base is located five kilometers from the center of Paris. In this attack, six soldiers were injured, three of whom are reported to be in critical condition. The Minister of the Interior announced that anti-terrorism experts are investigating the matter, stating, "This attack was premeditated and not accidental." Reuters, citing a French judicial official, reported that the driver was unarmed and that during the chase, a police officer was injured by friendly fire. Wednesday's attack is the fifteenth attack on police and military forces in France in the past two and a half years. Following the bloody Paris attacks for which ISIS claimed responsibility, a large number of police and military forces have been deployed across the country. Attacks by ISIS militants and their supporters have left over 230 dead in France since January 2015. In this context, French media reported that the perpetrator of the attack in Nice was a Franco-Tunisian, two Belgian police officers were injured in a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting in Paris, and an assailant near Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was shot and injured by police. The lights of the Eiffel Tower will be turned off in honor of the victims of the Tehran attacks. An attack on a police truck in Paris has led to an extension of the state of emergency in France.