bir yıl önce

Two women killed in knife attack at Islamic centre in Portugal's capital

Portugal’s PM says police shot the attacker after he stabbed two women to death at Ismaili Muslim centre in Lisbon.

AFP

Prime Minister António Costa said police were investigating the attack and it was too soon to speculate about a motive.

Two women have been killed in a knife attack that also left several others wounded at an Islamic centre in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, police said.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday it was "premature to make any interpretation of this criminal act."

"Everything points to this being an isolated incident," he told reporters.

Images on Portuguese television showed armed police outside the Ismaili Muslim centre.

"The attack left several people wounded and, for the moment, two dead," police said in a statement, adding that the suspected assailant had been shot and arrested.

Police said they arrived at the building just before 1000 GMT (11 am local time) after being warned that a knife attack was underway.

'Culturally diverse community'

"The police come across a man armed with a large knife. Orders were given to the attacker to cease the attack, which he disobeyed, advancing towards the police, knife in hand," the police statement added.

"Faced with the serious and ongoing threat, the policemen used firearms against the person, hitting and neutralising the aggressor."

The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, belong to the Shia branch of Islam, according to their website.

The Ismaili Muslims are a "culturally diverse community" living in over 25 countries around the world, it says.

There are around 7,000 Ismaili Muslims living in Portugal, a nation of around 10 million people.