A 36-year-old taxi driver has been identified as the man behind a knife attack outside Paris today in which he stabbed his mother and sister to death and seriously injured a third person.

Kamel Salhi, who had been on a terror watch-list since 2016, was shot dead by police after shouting 'Allahu akbar' during the attack in Trappes.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack in the town 20 miles west of Paris, where more than 50 people have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS.

Shortly after the attack, ISIS's Aamaq propaganda agency tweeted that the man had heeded their calls to target 'nationals of coalition countries.'

The attack took place just hours after ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was heard urging the terror group's 'holy warriors' to continue fighting their enemies across the world, in a freshly released audio recording.

However, local police believe the attack may have been caused by a 'domestic argument', although his motive is not yet clear.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb arrived at the scene not long after the attacker had been shot dead, and described the 36-year-old as a 'criminal who had significant psychiatric problems'.

Attacker: The man, identified locally as taxi driver Kamel Salhi, was shot dead by police

Attack: Armed officers patrol the street in Trappes where a man armed with a knife killed one person and injured two while shouting 'Allahu akbar'

Claim: ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, despite local police saying they believe the attack was caused by a 'domestic argument'

Collomb said the attack is not being treated as a terrorist case for the moment, and added that the third person who was seriously injured was not a member of the family.

'He was known (to police) for advocating terrorism but it seems he was a disturbed person rather than someone who could respond to calls for action from terrorist organisations like Daesh,' he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

He had since been earning a living as a taxi driver, while subject to an S for Security terror watch list, meaning he should have been monitored because of his radical views and behaviour.

Regular French criminal prosecutors are investigating the case rather than anti-terror specialists, Collomb stressed, although checks on the knifeman's phone and computer were under way.

He added that the third person who was seriously injured was not a member of the family.

Mr Salhi had recently returned to his family home Trappes, after separating from his girlfriend in the nearby Val d’Oise department.

Following a conviction of 'apologising for terrorism’ in 2016, which saw him end up on a police terror watchlist, he was fired from his job as a bus driver.

He had reportedly been making a living as a taxi driver, but is said to have suffered with severe psychological problems and was known to be a heavy drinker.

Experts have urged caution about recent IS announcements because it has lost credibility after claiming responsibility for seemingly unrelated violence as it faces defeat on the battlefield in the Middle East.

French police secure a street after a man killed two persons and injured an other in a knife attack in Trappes, near Paris

Family feud: The two people killed by the 36-year-old are reportedly his mother and sister

'The incident took place soon after 10am,' said a French security source. 'A man attacked passers-by in rue Camille Claudel in Trappes.

'He disappeared into a house when police arrived at the scene, and when he came out he was shot dead.'

While in the house, the man reportedly shouted to police: ''Allahu akbar, if you come in I'll blow you up.'

A police operation is currently underway in the suburb with armed officers patrolling the streets and several areas cordoned off.

'My first thoughts go to the victims and their loved ones,' Interior Minister Gerard Collomb wrote on Twitter before travelling to Trappes.

'I want to commend the security forces for their exemplary reaction and mobilisation.'

After the attack, the man fled into a house and shouted to police: ''Allahu akbar, if you come in I'll blow you up!'

A police operation is currently underway in Trappes, with armed officers patrolling the streets and several areas cordoned off

Trappes has a population of around 30,000 and is part of the far suburbs of the greater Paris area.

Only a short drive from the wealthy area of Versailles, home to the world-famous Versailles Palace, the town is known for problems linked to poverty, gangs and hardline interpretations of Islam.

It has a large Muslim population and about 50 locals are suspected of having left France to fight for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, according to French security sources.

In July 2013, Trappes was the scene of a series of riots which saw Muslim protesters torch cars and attack a police station.

Hundreds stormed the local police headquarters after officers had tried to fine a woman for wearing a niqab, a full-face Islamic veil which is forbidden in France, and arrested her husband for trying to stop them.

Thursday's incident follows a series of knife and gun attacks carried out by Islamic State and al-Qaeda operatives in France, dating back to early 2015.

France remains on a state of high terrorist alert, with police and army patrols patrolling the streets of major cities such as Paris.

Trappes has a population of around 30,000 and is known for problems linked to poverty, gangs and hardline interpretations of Islam

ISIS chief al-Baghdadi urges fresh 'jihad' from followers in his first supposed speech in a year

The attack in France has been linked to ISIS, and took place hours after a speech was released online, claiming to be the words of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Al-Baghdadi's death has been reported several times, and it is not known if he is still alive, or where he is, leaving many questioning the validity of the speech released.

He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the desert that stretches across the Syrian-Iraqi border region.

His last audio message was on Sept. 28, 2017 in which he called on his followers to burn their enemies everywhere and target 'media centers of the infidels.'

In the audio, al-Baghdadi- urges ISIS's 'holy warriors' to continue fighting the group's enemies across the world.

The attack took place just hours after ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urged the terror group's 'holy warriors' to continue fighting their enemies across the world

The 54-minute audio entitled 'Give Glad Tidings to the Patient' was released by the extremist group's central media arm, al-Furqan Foundation, on Wednesday evening.

A man's voice is heard saying: 'For the Mujahideen [holy warriors] the scale of victory or defeat is not dependent on a city or town being stolen or subject to that who has aerial superiority, intercontinental missiles or smart bombs.'

He congratulates followers on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Ada and makes references to current events, including Turkey's row with the United States over its detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

'America is going through the worst time in its entire existence,' al-Baghdad says, adding that Russia is competing with the U.S. over regional influence and clout.

He also criticizes surrenders by the rebels in southern Syria to President Bashar Assad's forces, calling them traitors and urges fighters to join the Islamic State group instead. He also urges patience, perseverance and continued jihad, or holy war.

The audio's authenticity could not be independently verified and there were no clues as to where it was recorded.

The extremist group has lost around 90 percent of territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria in 2014, when IS declared its so-called 'caliphate.'