Suspect still at large after fatal stabbing in French mosque

TUNIS/ISTANBUL

The suspect behind Friday morning’s fatal stabbing at a mosque in France's La Grand-Combe remains at large, the Ales public prosecutor’s office confirmed on Saturday.

New details are emerging about the deadly attack, which claimed the life of a 23 or 24-year-old worshipper. The suspect reportedly filmed himself after the killing, brandishing a knife and making insulting remarks about “Allah” and the victim, who lay dying on the ground, Franceinfo reported.

Investigators are examining a possible Islamophobic motive, according to local media reports.

Ales public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) is monitoring the case, although it has not yet formally taken it over. Grini noted that the victim was a regular at the mosque in Trescol, a hamlet within La Grand-Combe, while the suspected attacker had never been seen there before.

Surveillance cameras inside and around the mosque captured images of the suspect, who appears to be unknown to both local residents and mosque-goers.

According to sources cited by Le Parisien, after repeatedly stabbing the victim, the assailant recorded the scene with his cell phone.

Meanwhile, the La Grand-Combe community is rallying to raise funds to repatriate the body of the victim, identified as Aboubakar, to his family in Mali.

TUNIS/ISTANBUL

The suspect behind Friday morning’s fatal stabbing at a mosque in France's La Grand-Combe remains at large, the Ales public prosecutor’s office confirmed on Saturday.

Investigators are examining a possible Islamophobic motive, according to local media reports.

Surveillance cameras inside and around the mosque captured images of the suspect, who appears to be unknown to both local residents and mosque-goers.

According to sources cited by Le Parisien, after repeatedly stabbing the victim, the assailant recorded the scene with his cell phone.

Meanwhile, the La Grand-Combe community is rallying to raise funds to repatriate the body of the victim, identified as Aboubakar, to his family in Mali.