Aug. 10 (UPI) — Two police officers in southern France were attacked and wounded by a bladed weapon-wielding assailant Monday evening, officials said, in what may have been a terrorism-related attack.<\/p>\n
The suspect was apprehended, Toulouse Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc said in a statement<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n The pair of municipal officers were patrolling Rue d’Austerlitz when attacked, he said, stating both were taken to Rangueil University Hospital for treatment. Officials did not comment on their conditions.<\/p>\n He said, “remarks of a terrorist nature were also reported.”<\/p>\n “My thoughts are with our officers, their families and their colleagues,” Moudenc said.<\/p>\n “I offer them my full support and wish them a speedy recovery.”<\/p>\n Uncorroborated video of the arrest posted online shows a man fighting with three police officers, two of whom are wielding batons, on the sidewalk of an empty street. The suspect gets past two officers and lunges at a third, who sprays him with an apparent irritant. As the suspect attacks that officer, one of the others grabs him around the neck and tackles him to the ground.<\/p>\n Alliance Police Nationale, a major French police union, said the suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic expression meaning “God is greatest,” during the attack.\n<\/p>\n “Behind the uniform, it is people who are being attacked. But what they represent is also being targeted: order, the law and authority,” Alliance PN said in an online statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Unreserved support for our colleagues.”<\/p>\n Toulouse is the capital of France’s southern Occitanie region and is located near the France-Spain border and 420 miles south of Paris.<\/p>\n France remains on heightened terrorism<\/a> alert-level since June 22.<\/p>\n On July 27, three women were attacked<\/a> with a man armed with knifes in Paris. The suspect was subdued by bystanders, and an off-duty police officer detained him.<\/p>\n