Marseille: Two women were stabbed to death and their assailant shot dead in the southern port city of Marseille on Sunday in what French police described as a "likely terrorist act".

Police sources said the suspect had shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) in Arabic as he attacked the women, aged 17 and 20, at Marseille's main railway station.

Two police sources said one had her throat slit while the other was stabbed in the chest and stomach.

A witness said she saw a man take a knife from his sleeve and stab a young girl and then a woman.