Three French Soldiers Stabbed Near Jewish Center in Nice

Three soldiers of anti-terror patrol have been injured in a knife attack in front of a Jewish community center in the French city of Nice.

MOSCOW — Three French soldiers were attacked by a man with a knife while on an anti-terror patrol in the city of Nice.

Local news portal Nice Matin has reported that one soldier sustained a facial injury, another a leg wound, and one was grazed on the chin.

Pictures from the scene in #Nice #Paris: Two of the three soldiers have been stabbed and are lightly injured pic.twitter.com/9XkPqlKdqs

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) February 3, 2015

The attacker was identified as Moussa Coulibaly. The last name of the attacker is the same as that of the man who killed four people in a kosher store in Paris last month, according to media reports.

According to a police official, the attacker pulled a 20-centimeter long knife out of his bag and cut one of the soldiers on the chin. Then, he attacked two other soldiers, before riot police could arrest him, AP says.

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi told BFM television that the attacker had a possible accomplice, who fled the scene, the New York Daily News said.

The attacker had a past record of theft and violence. According to the police, his motive for the attack is not yet clear.

France has been on high alert since last month's terror attacks in the Paris region by three Islamist gunmen, in which 17 were killed. More than 10,000 soldiers have been deployed around the country to protect sensitive locations, including major shopping areas, synagogues, mosques and transit hubs.

Earlier today, French authorities arrested seven men and a woman suspected of involvement in a terrorist network that worked to recruit and send young French citizens to join Islamic militants in Syria.