A manhunt is under way in France for the person responsible for a fake explosive that left dozens dead and dozens more injured in a bomb attack on a football match in the south of the country.
Police said on Friday the manhunt for the suspect who caused the blast in the town of Brest, south of Paris, began after an online message calling for violence was posted on Monday.
It was followed by an attack on the stadium, in which a man was killed and more than 40 injured, French police said.
“It is a terrorist act,” said Jean-Michel Boulanger, head of the investigation unit in Brest.
“It is the second time in less than a week that a terrorist has targeted a football stadium.”
Police said the suspect, identified as Mohamed Merah, was wearing a green shirt and a red scarf and carrying a handgun.
“The attacker came in a black SUV and drove away from the scene,” Boulangers said.
Police are trying to identify witnesses and witnesses’ mobile phones.
The attack happened at the end of a match between France’s FC Paris Saint-Germain and Brestonense, which has a strong African diaspora.
A total of six people have been killed, according to local authorities, and more were injured.
The attacker was shot dead by police.
The blast came less than 24 hours after the Islamic State group (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) group claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks that killed 130 people on Friday.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the attack a “surgical and cowardly attack”, while President Francois Hollande said France would continue to “take revenge”.
The attacker’s family was being questioned by police on Friday, according the Associated Press news agency.