A knife attack in Paris which left one man dead and two women injured is being treated as terror-related, police have said.

The assailant was shot dead by police after the stabbing in Villejuif, in the south of the city on Friday.

In a statement on Saturday, police said investigations had revealed that the attacker had been radicalised having converted to Islam sometime between May and July last year.

Image: French police secure the area in Villejuif near Paris

Creteil prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the assailant was a 22-year-old man who had a long and serious psychiatric history.

Ms Beccuau said he had shouted "Allahu akbar" - which means God is great in Arabic - several times during the attack.


Officers said the initial investigations justify looking into "murder and attempted murder in relation to a terrorist undertaking".

Investigators are looking at his phone calls and computer equipment.

No accomplice has been identified.

Image: Prosecutor Laure Beccuau and deputy director of the regional judicial police Philippe Bugeaud

Philippe Bugeaud, deputy director of the judicial police, said a letter and several books about Islam were found in his bag.

Some of the books are about Salafism, which is widely considered to be a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.

The two women injured in the attack have been discharged from hospital.