Teacher in Paris suburb assaulted by attacker citing Islamic State

A hooded man claiming to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) stabbed the throat of a teacher in a school outside of Paris, French officials said on Monday.

According to reports, the attacker yelled: “It’s Daesh, it’s a warning”.

Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. It was unclear how the man sustained his injuries.

“He is being interviewed with a view to establishing the reasons for this invented story”, news agency Reuters reported, citing a legal source.

Days later on November 18, a teacher at a Jewish school in the southern French city of Marseilles was stabbed by three people professing support for Islamic State. He arrived without a weapon but grabbed a cutter and a pair of scissors that were lying in the classroom.

According to French broadcasters TF1, the teacher has now admitted to stabbing himself.

The anti-terrorism branch of the Paris prosecutor’s office initially said it would conduct an investigation for attempted murder in relation to a terrorist act.

The attack was carried out in Aubervilliers, in Seine-Saint-Denis department in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. No children were present in the class at the time of incident.

French schools have imposed strict security measures since previous attacks in January, with doors locked during the day, identity checks for visitors and periodic bag searches.

ISIS’ French propaganda magazine Dar al Islam reportedly called on supporters to kill teachers and for parents to pull their children out of French schools.

Europe has been on high-alert amid a crackdown on potential terror cells since the Paris attacks.

Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem visited the school Monday, AP said, promising greater security for France’s education centers going forward.