Paris, Nov. 13, (dpa/GNA) – More than 260 people have been killed in France since 2015 in Islamist extremist attacks, or attacks that are still under investigation in which an Islamist motive is suspected.
Many of them have been claimed by the Islamic State extremist group, although the extent of its actual involvement has not always been clear.
Here is a chronology of the fatal attacks since January 2015, when the first attacks in Paris took place. Police say they have foiled dozens of other attempted attacks.
Paris, January 2015: Twelve people die during an attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The two gunmen – brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi – die two days later after police surround their hideout north-east of Paris.
At about the same time, Amedy Coulibaly, an Islamist and acquaintance of the brothers, shoots a policewoman in the south of Paris before taking hostages in a Jewish supermarket in the city. Four people are killed before police take Coulibaly down.
Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, June 2015: A chemical plant is attacked by a suspected Islamist and one man is beheaded, two wounded.
Paris, November 2015: Islamic State extremists kill 130 people in Paris in coordinated attacks at the Bataclan concert hall and nearby bars and restaurants. In addition, three terrorists blow themselves up outside the Stade de France during a football friendly between France and Germany, killing themselves and a bus driver.
Magnanville, June 2016: A police commander and his female companion are killed in their home by a man who then posts a live Facebook video pledging allegiance to Islamic State.
Nice, July 2016: Eighty-six people are killed and many are wounded when an attacker drives a truck into a crowd of Bastille Day revellers.
Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, July 2016: Two assailants, claiming to be members of the Islamic State extremist group, kill an 84-year-old priest in a church in northern France and are killed by police as they leave the church.
Paris, April 2017: A gunman shoots a policeman dead on the Champs-Elysees. He also injures two officers and a German tourist before being shot dead by police.
Marseille, October 2017: Two young women are killed in a knife attack at the main railway station in Marseille. The killer is shot dead by police.
Carcassonne, March 2018: Four people are killed in the southern towns of Carcassonne and Trebes, including a gendarmerie officer who gave himself up to the attacker in return for the freeing of a hostage. The attacker is shot dead by police after a siege.
Strasbourg, December 2018: A 29-year-old man shoots and kills at least two people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg. Witnesses say the gunman shouted “Allahu akbar” – “God is greatest” – as he opened fire. At least 12 people are injured.
Paris, October 2019: A 45-year-old civilian official at the Paris police headquarters kills four colleagues in a knife rampage before being shot dead by a sentry.
Paris suburbs, January 2020: One person is killed and two injured in a knife rampage in the suburb of Villejuif. The attacker, a young man with a history of both mental illness and extremist views, is shot dead by police.
Romans-sur-Isere, April 2020: Two people are killed and five injured in a knife rampage in the south-eastern town of Romans-sur-Isere during France’s first coronavirus lockdown. The alleged assailant is arrested. Anti-terrorism prosecutors are still investigating.
Conflans-Saint-Honorine, October 2020: A schoolteacher who had used controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in a class on the freedom of expression is beheaded near his school by a young man of Russian-Chechen origin, who is subsequently shot dead by police.
Nice, October 2020: Three people are killed in a knife attack inside the Catholic Basilica of Notre Dame. The alleged perpetrator is shot multiple times by police and seriously injured. Prosecutors say he is a Tunisian national who arrived in Europe on a migrant boat that landed at the Italian island of Lampedusa.
GNA