Investigators baffled by killings of French soldiers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The French government tried yesterday to play down the possibility of an Afghan or Islamist terrorist connection to the shootings of four soldiers on the streets over the past week. Other possibilities, including racially motivated crimes, are being studied by investigators.
On Thursday, two paratroopers in uniform died and a third was critically wounded when they were shot at close range by a gunman on a motorbike at Montauban in south-west France. All three were of African origin. The wounded man was in a critical but stable condition yesterday.
The incident bore a strong resemblance to the fatal shooting four days earlier in Toulouse of a paratrooper out of uniform. He, too, was of North African origin. In Montauban, the soldiers were withdrawing money from a cash machine. In Toulouse, the soldier had paused while riding a motorcycle.
French media speculated yesterday that the attacks might have been motivated by the presence of French forces in Afghanistan. The three men attacked on Thursday belonged to a unit that has lost four soldiers while defusing mines in Afghanistan.
]The Defence Minister, Gérard Longuet, and the Foreign Minister, Alain Juppé, said a terrorist connection was being investigated but there were no indications of a political motive. Asked if there could be an Afghan connection, Mr Longuet added: "Genuinely, I don't think so and I hope not. But at this stage we have no reason to exclude any hypothesis."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments