France mosque attacks: Explosions and gunshots heard near places of worship - hours after magazine massacre
There have been fears of a backlash against the Muslim community in the wake of the attack on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
A French mosque and prayer room were attacked just hours after gunman burst into the offices of magazine Charlie Hebdo and shot dead 10 staff.
The Islamic centres of worship were targeted in separate attacks overnight.
Three blank grenades were thrown at a mosque shortly after midnight in the city of Le Mans, west of Paris, and shots were fired at a Muslim prayer hall after evening prayers in the Port-la-Nouvelle district near Narbonne in southern France.
Luckily, nobody was injured in the incidents, but police found a bullet hole in a window of the first floor of the mosque.
In the early hours of this morning an explosion at a kebab shop near a mosque rocked the eastern French town of Villefranche-sur-Saone.
Investigators described the attack as "criminal" and said police were investigating.
France is on high alert following the deadly assault by a pair of heavily armed, seemingly military-trained gunmen on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo yesterday that left 12 dead.
Emergency services at scene of Charlie Hebdo shooting. Gunman still at large
It was reported that the two killers shouted "God is great" and "The Prophet has been avenged" as they committed the atrocity.
There have been fears of a backlash against the Muslim community in France as a result of the shooting.
No link has yet been established between the attacks.
Port-la-Nouvelle prosecutor David Charmatz told Liberation: "It's obviously someone who has seen fit to avenge whatever or whomever."
Charlie Hebdo has come under fire from Muslims in the past as it frequently mocked Islam, as well as other religions.
Source http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/france-mosque-attacks-explosions-gunshots-4940697
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