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Man 'tried to drive car into crowd' in front of French mosque

The man reportedly wanted to avenge attacks linked to Islamic State that have killed dozens in Paris over the past years.

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A man has been arrested after trying to drive a car into a crowd in front of a mosque in the Paris suburb of Créteil, police said, adding that no one was injured, reports The Guardian.

Police said the man’s motives were unclear, and that he had not succeeded in driving into the crowd because of barriers placed in front of the mosque.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, the man said he had wanted to avenge attacks linked to Islamic State that have killed dozens in Paris over the past years.

According to the newspaper, the man, who was driving an SUV, tried several times to drive at the worshippers outside the mosque but was prevented by the high pavement and barriers.

“We saw the car drive three times round the mosque – it was very strange – and suddenly it drove very fast. As far as I could see, it was clearly trying to knock down the pedestrians,” a witness told the newspaper.

Read more of this report from The Guardian.