Paris Louvre attack suspect says he is Egyptian

Terrorist is thought to have landed in France on a flight from Dubai, but investigators are still trying to establish his identity

By AFP 3 February 2017, 9:39 pm

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French police officers stand on a sidewalk as a search is conducted in Paris's 8th arrondissement as part of the investigation into the attack at the Louvre museum earlier on February 3, 2017. (AFP/Francois Guillot)

PARIS — The suspect in the attack near the Louvre museum in Paris on Friday is a 29-year-old man who says he was born in Egypt and entered France on January 26, sources involved in the investigation said.

The man is thought to have landed in France on a flight from Dubai, but investigators are still trying to establish his identity, the sources said.

In his visa request to come to France he declared that he was Egyptian.

“He entered France on January 26,” one source said.

The man wielded a machete and shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) as he lunged at soldiers patrolling outside the Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and one of the world’s most-visited museums.

The man was shot five times and is in a serious condition. A soldier suffered a minor head wound.

The attack has thrust security and the terror threat to France back into the limelight three months before elections.

More than 230 people have been killed in terror attacks in France since January 2015, including 130 who died when gunmen and suicide bombers from the Islamic State group struck at Paris on November 13, 2015.