IS claims responsibility for Paris shooting
Amaq, the propaganda agency affiliated with the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) said the jihadist group was responsible for the Paris shooting targeting the police officers, Deutsche Welle reports.
The source notes that a gunman opened fire on police at Paris' iconic Champs-Elysees boulevard late on Thursday, killing one officer and injuring at least two others.
While authorities did not confirm any links between IS and the assailant, President Francois Hollande said at a press briefing that he was convinced the incident pointed to a terrorist attack. The outgoing president has also scheduled an emergency security cabinet meeting on Friday.
France has remained in a state of emergency since 2015. A spate of nationwide Islamist attacks over the last two years has killed more than 230 people.
French presidential candidates Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen both said they would cancel campaign events that had been scheduled for Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed their condolences to French President, with Trump labeling the shooting as a ‘terror attack’.