Carcassonne and Trèbes attack

terrorist attack from French from 2018

On 23 March 2018, there was a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in the towns of Carcassonne and Trèbes in southern France.

Carcassonne and Trèbes attacks
LocationTrèbes and Carcassonne, Aude, France
Date23 March 2018 (2018-03-23)
Attack type
Hostage-taking, shooting
Deaths5 (including the perpetrator)
Injured
15[1]
PerpetratorRedouane Lakdim (self-proclaimed Islamic State member)[2]
MotiveRelease of Salah Abdeslam

Background

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Redouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old French-Moroccan, shot the two occupants of a car in Carcassonne, killing the passenger and hijacking it. He then opened fire on four police officers, seriously wounding one. Lakdim drove to nearby Trèbes, where he stormed a Super U supermarket, killing two civilians, wounding others, and taking at least one hostage.

A senior gendarme, Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, voluntarily swapped places with a hostage. After a three-hour stand-off, Lakdim fatally shot and stabbed Beltrame. A police tactical unit immediately stormed the building and killed Lakdim. He was named a "soldier of the Islamic State" by the Amaq News Agency, and the President of France called the attacks an act of Islamist terrorism.

Motive

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Lakdim swore allegiance to the Islamic State and demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect of the November 2015 Paris attacks.

Aftermath

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Five people were killed in the attacks, including the perpetrator, and fifteen were wounded.

For his actions, Beltrame was hailed as a hero. Macron said that Beltrame deserved "the respect and admiration of the whole nation."[3]

References

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  1. "DIRECT. Attaques terroristes dans l'Aude : au moins trois morts". Le Parisien (in French). 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  2. Chrisafis, Angelique; Henley, Jon (23 March 2018). "Gunman shot dead by French police after three killed in terror attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. "Tributes paid for hostage-swap policeman". BBC News. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018..