The Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group on Thursday night claimed responsibility for the shooting attack in Paris in which a police officer was killed, Reuters reported, citing the Amaq news agency affiliated with the group.
The news agency identified the attacker as one of its “soldiers” naming him as Abu Yousif, the Belgian.
A French policeman was shot dead and two others were wounded in the incident on the Champs Elysees shopping boulevard.
The gunman himself was killed by officers, while a second suspect still on the loose.
France has been rocked by a wave of deadly jihadist attacks which began on January 2015 and have killed more than 230 people. The country remains on high alert.
Just this week, French security services arrested two men accused of plotting an attack.
Last month, French authorities arrested four members of a family as part of a preliminary investigation in connection with a plot to carry out an attack
Prior to that, French police arrested three men suspected of planning a terror attack in raids in the Paris area, Marseille and the central city of Clermont-Ferrand.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the shooting in Paris that saw a gunman open fire on a police van, killing one officer and injuring two.
The terrorist network’s news agency identified the attacker as Belgian man Abu Yousef al-Belgiki in a tweet taking credit for the attack.
Cops killed the shooter at the scene — and say he was someone they’d previously flagged as an extremist.
The officers were stopped at a red light on the Champs Elysee — a bustling boulevard popular with tourists and famed for its luxury stores and eateries — when the gunman drove up at 9 pm, pulled out an automatic weapon and started shooting, according to a government spokesman.