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Pakistani, Algerian Suspects Arrested In Paris 'Terrorist-Related' Attack


French soldiers at the scene of a knife attack near the former offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on September 25.
French soldiers at the scene of a knife attack near the former offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on September 25.

France's counterterrorism prosecutor's office has opened an investigation after two people were wounded in a knife assault in Paris near the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo -- the scene of a 2015 terrorist attack that killed 12 people.

The prosecutor's office said on September 25 that an investigation had been opened into “attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise" and "conspiracy with terrorists."

Two suspects were arrested, one of whom had blood on his clothing. A blade -- described as a machete or a meat cleaver --- was recovered at the scene of the attack.

Europe 1 radio quoted police as saying the suspect with blood on his clothing was 18 years old and was known to security services. He was detained near the Bastille plaza in eastern Paris, according to French media reports.

Reuters quoted a Paris police source as saying that one arrested suspect was Pakistani and the other was Algerian.

Officers cordoned off the area, including the former offices of Charlie Hebdo, after a suspicious package was reported nearby. Police said no explosives were found.

The Premieres Lignes news-production agency said the wounded were its employees -- a man and a woman taking a cigarette break outside.

"They were both very badly wounded," the founder and co-head of Premieres Lignes, Paul Moreira, told the AFP news agency.

It is unclear whether the attack is linked to Charlie Hebdo, which moved its activities out of the area after Islamic militants attacked its editorial offices in 2015, killing 12 people.

The incident comes as a high-profile trial is under way in Paris of 14 people including three fugitives, accused of helping two militants carry out the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo.

The court heard that the suspects had sought to avenge the Prophet Muhammad, nearly a decade after Charlie Hebdo published cartoons mocking him.

Police moved Charlie Hebdo's head of Human Resources from her home this week after threats against her life.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa, and the BBC

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