France is stepping up security at mosques nationwide after a Muslim worshipper was fatally stabbed inside a mosque in the south of the country, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced on Sunday.

 

In an interview with BFMTV, Retailleau confirmed that he had instructed regional officials to enhance protective measures around places of worship. "I have sent a telegram to the country's prefects for all the mosques in France to be better protected than they are," he said.

 

The man accused of carrying out a deadly stabbing at a mosque in La Grand-Combe, southern France, has yet to be apprehended, according to the Alès public prosecutor’s office, which provided an update on Saturday.

 

Authorities continue to piece together what happened during the attack, which left a worshipper, aged either 23 or 24, dead. According to Franceinfo, the suspect filmed himself after the stabbing, waving a knife and uttering blasphemous slurs.

 

Investigators are looking into whether the killing was driven by anti-Muslim hatred, several local media outlets reported.

 

Alès public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini stated that while the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office has been following developments closely, it has not formally taken over the investigation. Grini explained that the victim was a familiar face at the mosque in the Trescol district of La Grand-Combe, whereas the suspect was unknown to the local community.

 

Security footage from inside and outside the mosque captured images of the alleged attacker, who does not appear to have any ties to worshippers or area residents.

 

Le Parisien cited sources saying the suspect recorded the aftermath of the attack on his phone after stabbing the victim multiple times.

 

Meanwhile, the town of La Grand-Combe has begun efforts to raise money to send the victim's body, identified as Aboubakar, back to his family in Mali.