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Knife attack update: wounded include British and Dutch infants

A British girl and a Dutch boy, both holidaying in France, are among four children aged between 22 months and three years who were wounded along with two adults in a knife attack by a Syrian man in the south-east French town of Annecy, close to the Alps.

La rédaction de Mediapart

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A British girl is among four young children and two adults injured after a knife attack at a lakeside park in the French Alps, reports The Times.

Witnesses described scenes of panic as the attacker targeted toddlers at a play area in Annecy. At least one child was stabbed in a pushchair, they said.

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, confirmed that a British child was among the four children, who were all in a critical condition.

Line Bonnet, the state prosecutor in Annecy, said the suspect, a Syrian man born in 1991, was being investigated for attempted murder, but added: “There is no evidence at this point to suggest a terrorist motive.”

Bonnet said four children, a one-year-old, two aged two and one three-year-old, were in a critical condition. She said the British girl was a tourist in France, as was a Dutch boy who was among the victims.

One adult was also in critical condition after being hit by a bullet fired by police as they tried to stop the attacker, Bonnet said. French media outlets said he was 78 years old. A second adult was also injured although less seriously.

The suspect, dressed in black, was given asylum in Sweden, where he is believed to have been living since 2013.

Read more of this report from The Times.