France opens anti-terror probe into attack on soldier

PARIS- French prosecutors opened an anti-terrorist investigation into the attack on a soldier who was stabbed in the neck in western Paris on Saturday, local channel BFMTV reported.

The 23-year-old soldier from the 4th Regiment of Gap Chasseurs was patrolling the business district of La Defense with two other servicemen as part of Vigipirate anti-terrorist plan when a man stabbed him in the neck at 5:55 p.m. local time (1555 GMT) near the entrance to the RER station of La Defense, the BFMTV said.

The crime was filmed by surveillance cameras but the perpetrator escaped from the scene. Police described the attacker as a 1.9-meter-tall man wearing a jersey and black trousers.

The soldier was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. His life was not in danger, according to the Interior Ministry.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the stabbed soldier was targeted because he was in the army.

"They tried to kill him because he is a soldier," he told reporters, stressing that France will continue an "implacable" fight against terrorism.

In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, French President Francois Hollande said the authorities are exploring all options to answer questions on the daytime assault.

"We still don't know the exact circumstances of the attack or the identity of the attacker, but we are exploring all options," he said.

The attack came days after a British soldier was killed on a London street by two men who said they were revenging for violence against Muslims.

"At this stage no link was established with the murder of the British soldier. But, we must study all the assumptions," Hollande said, urging high vigilance to face any eventual attack.

Paris has heightened the terror alert to red level after its military operation in Mali ignited menaces against French interests from al-Qaida's North African wing (AQIM).

A major terrorist bomb explosion hit the Paris subway in 1995, killing eight people and injuring 200 others.