PARIS - A friend of the man who carried out a deadly knife attack in Paris was charged Thursday with "associating with criminal terrorists" while two women were detained for questioning as the investigation gathers speed. Both men, who were close friends, had appeared on French terror watch lists, although neither had a prior criminal record. But he added that examinations of telephone networks showed that shortly before the attack, Hakim A has sent his sister a text message of "a jihadist chant regularly used by the Islamic State". - Women detained -Molins confirmed that two women were detained for questioning Thursday in connection with the attack. The attack brings to 246 the number of victims from a string of apparent jihadist strikes against French targets since 2015.

Source: Bangkok Post May 18, 2018 02:03 UTC