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Egypt identifies Louvre Museum attacker

People go through a security checkpoint as they enter the Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris, on February 4, 2017, a day after a machete attack near the site. (Photo by AFP)

Egypt says the assailant in a recent terrorist attack near the Louvre Museum in the French capital of Paris is an Egyptian-born.

The attacker was identified as 28-year-old Abdullah Reda Refaie al-Hamahmy, an Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspect had no political and criminal record.

Hamahmy, on Friday, attacked soldiers near the iconic building with a machete, slightly injuring one before other soldiers shot and wounded him.

His father, Reda Refae al-Hamahmy, said after learning about the Paris attack that Abdullah had been “normal” and was neither an extremist nor did he belong to any militant group. He said he had been shocked by the news, which he called trumped-up.

“This is all a scenario made up by the French government to justify the soldiers opening fire,” he claimed.

Authorities in France have yet to confirm the identity of the attacker.

Police officers patrol in front of the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, on February 4, 2017, a day after an attack at the site. (Photo by AFP)

France has been hit with a number of terrorist attacks in the past two years.

On November 13, 2015, the Daesh terrorist group waged a series of attacks that left at least 130 people dead in and around Paris. The country immediately declared a state of emergency, which has been in place ever since.

The soldiers involved in the Louvre incident on Friday were there as part of enhanced security measures under the state of emergency.

In July 2016, a man deliberately plowed his truck through a Bastille Day crowd in the city of Nice. The attack left 85 dead and 200 others injured. Daesh later claimed responsibility.


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