Paris:
A suspect arrested on Wednesday has admitted to the weekend stabbing of a French soldier in Paris and was probably acting based on his "religious ideology", Paris prosecutor Xavier Molins said.
Molins said the man, named as Alexandre D. and who turns 22 on Thursday, had converted to Islam and was known to police after undergoing an identity check in 2009 for praying on the street.
He added the suspect had "admitted to the act" during his arrest early Wednesday in the Yvelines region just west of Paris, following the attack on Saturday in which Private First Class Cedric Cordiez was stabbed in the neck.
The prosecutor said the suspect had "a fairly clear intent to kill" during the attack, which took place in a busy underground shopping and transport hub while Cordiez was on patrol with two colleagues.
Cordiez was injured but was released from hospital on Monday.
The stabbing echoed the grisly killing of another soldier in London last week and authorities are seeking to determine if the Paris incident was a copycat.
The head of investigative police, Christian Flaesch, said there had been no previous indications of the suspect's involvement in violent extremism.
"Other than the praying in the street, there were no other elements that could have indicated he was dangerous," Flaesch said, adding that the man was from a "family that seems completely honourable".
Molins said the suspect had shown an "impressive determination" to carry out the attack, stabbing the soldier "several times" with a fold-out knife.
He said video footage showed the suspect buying two knives an hour prior to the attack and praying eight minutes before the stabbing.
Molins added the suspect was known to police for various misdemeanors but did not have a criminal record.
He was arrested at the home of a friend, who Molins said was not connected with the crime and did not know that the suspect was being sought.
Molins said the man, named as Alexandre D. and who turns 22 on Thursday, had converted to Islam and was known to police after undergoing an identity check in 2009 for praying on the street.
He added the suspect had "admitted to the act" during his arrest early Wednesday in the Yvelines region just west of Paris, following the attack on Saturday in which Private First Class Cedric Cordiez was stabbed in the neck.
The prosecutor said the suspect had "a fairly clear intent to kill" during the attack, which took place in a busy underground shopping and transport hub while Cordiez was on patrol with two colleagues.
Cordiez was injured but was released from hospital on Monday.
The stabbing echoed the grisly killing of another soldier in London last week and authorities are seeking to determine if the Paris incident was a copycat.
The head of investigative police, Christian Flaesch, said there had been no previous indications of the suspect's involvement in violent extremism.
"Other than the praying in the street, there were no other elements that could have indicated he was dangerous," Flaesch said, adding that the man was from a "family that seems completely honourable".
Molins said the suspect had shown an "impressive determination" to carry out the attack, stabbing the soldier "several times" with a fold-out knife.
He said video footage showed the suspect buying two knives an hour prior to the attack and praying eight minutes before the stabbing.
Molins added the suspect was known to police for various misdemeanors but did not have a criminal record.
He was arrested at the home of a friend, who Molins said was not connected with the crime and did not know that the suspect was being sought.
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