This is the chilling moment a knifeman was taken down by armed police after slitting a woman's throat and stabbing another in the stomach during a "frenzied" terror attack.

The assailant is alleged to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" before embarking on a deadly rampage at the Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles, in Marseille, France.

Two people were killed in the suspected terror attack before the assailant was shot dead by cops.

Early images from the scene show a woman lying motionless on the ground while armed soldiers tower over the assailant nearby.

The Paris prosecutors' office said a counter-terrorism investigation has been opened.

(Image: www.alamy.com)

(Image: www.alamy.com)

(Image: www.alamy.com)

St Charles, which was packed with travellers, was evacuated following the bloodbath in the southern French city early on Sunday afternoon.

Local police warned people to avoid the area while they carried out an operation.

French media confirmed three people, including the assailant and one woman, died during the incident.

One police source said the man, described as being aged 25-30 and of Maghrebian [Northwest African] descent, cried out "Allahu Akbar" before attacking two people.

(Image: www.alamy.com)

(Image: @Jlfayolle/Twitter)

Uniformed soldiers with assault rifles flooded the area, along with hundreds of police, after the "frenzied" attack.

One police source said: "The man first shouted threats, and then launched into the two women.

"The two were killed by a knife, and then solider on anti-terrorism duties intervened. They shot the man dead."

He added that the suspect shouted Allahu Akbar – Arab for "God is the Greatest" – during the attack.

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: Getty)

Soldiers at the scene were part of Operation Sentinel, a wide ranging security operation involving armed patrols dispersed all over France.

Local prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said the assault took place just before 2pm.

Within half an hour, the station and the area around it was in lockdown.

Meanwhile Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said he was on the way to the station "immediately" to liaise with anti-terrorist chiefs.

(Image: AFP)

One terrified onlooker told FranceTV: "There was a group of people sitting on one of the benches, about 100-150 meters from me.

"I heard screams and saw a man who was sitting on the bench falling to the ground. I heard the attacker with a knife screaming 'Allahu Akbar!', and I saw him trying to attack others people.

"I heard shots less than a minute after witnessing the attack, the intervention was extremely fast."

According to reports from Agence France-Presse, two people were killed in the 'terror' incident while the "assailant" was shot dead by members of the Sentinel Force.

The mayor of Marseille reportedly said the "number of victims could have been higher".

(Image: @Jlfayolle/Twitter)

The incident comes just hours after a terror attack in Canada left several hurt.

Witnesses to the horrific attack say a cop was repeatedly stabbed and a car deliberately rammed into pedestrians.

Police said that the attack began with a man, 30, driving his car "at high speed" at a police checkpoint outside an American football game in Edmonton, Alberta, attended by thousands of people.

He crashed through the barricade and hit a police officer sending him flying 15ft into the air.

The driver then jumped out and "viciously" attacked the injured officer, stabbing him several times, before running away.