Manhunt After Driver Attempts to Run Down Soldiers in Southern France

A man was arrested in southern France following a manhunt near the city of Grenoble, Thursday morning, after a driver appeared to deliberately attempt to ram his vehicle into a group of French soldiers.

The troops of the 93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment, who were out on their morning jog outside their base in Varces-Allières-et-Risset, in the French Alps, had to jump into a ditch to avoid the pavement-mounting Peugeot-make car, according to reports. There were no injuries.

France Bleu reports the driver of the car shouted insults at the troops before driving at them. A suspect was arrested at his home in Grenoble in the early afternoon after local schools were placed on lockdown during the manhunt. The arrested man has not been identified and described in French press only as a young male.

The Reuters newswire agency reports the remarks of a source close to the investigation, who said of the suspected attack: “A person tried to run down two soldiers from the 93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment in Varces, for unknown reasons.

“Given the context, the incident is being taken seriously but we don’t know his motivations. No one was injured.”

The suspected attack comes just six days after self-confessed Islamic State (ISIS) member Redouane Lakdim killed four including a senior police officer in Carcassonne and Trèbes, South West France. The Muslim extremist killer took hostages at a supermarket and demanded the release of fellow terrorist Salah Abdeslam, the role remaining survivior of the November 2015 terror attacks which killed 130.

Lakdim was shot and killed by police as they retook the supermarket.

This story is developing