The French Prime Minister has raised the country's counter-terrorism alert to its highest level after an assailant fatally attacked a teacher and inflicted serious injuries on two others. According to witnesses, the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar," signifying "God is greatest," during the assault at a school in Arras, located in northern France. The perpetrator is currently in police custody.

The utilization of the "attack emergency" status has been employed in previous instances of counter-terrorism. This alert can lead to increased security deployments and public warnings.

This attack occurred at Gambetta High School in the northern city around 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT). It unfolded in the midst of growing tensions within France's substantial Muslim and Jewish communities, largely due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, has asserted that there is "no doubt" of a connection between the Arras attack and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The assailant, identified as a 20-year-old Russian national named Mohamed Mogouchkov is of Chechen origin and was previously known to security services for his involvement with Islamist extremism, as per police reports. His extremist language had raised concerns among teachers during his time as a student at the school.

In connection to the attack, several members of the assailant's family, including a 17-year-old brother, his mother, a sister, and an uncle, have been apprehended by the police.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne took swift action after a security meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.

President Macron himself visited the school earlier and strongly condemned the "barbarity of Islamist terrorism." He urged the French people to remain "united" in the face of this attack, stressing the importance of not succumbing to terror or allowing divisions among them.

The victim who lost their life was a French language teacher, who was stabbed in the throat and chest.

Another teacher and a security guard sustained severe injuries and are presently receiving treatment in the hospital, with the security guard in critical condition due to multiple knife wounds. A cleaner was also injured but to a lesser extent, and fortunately, no children were harmed in the attack.

Mr. Macron said the teacher who died had "come forward to protect others and without doubt saved many lives".

Martin Dousseau, a teacher who witnessed the attack, told AFP news agency of "a moment of panic during break-time when the schoolchildren found themselves face-to-face with the armed man".

"He attacked canteen staff. I wanted to go down to intervene, but he turned to me, chased me, and asked me if I was a history and geography teacher," Mr Dousseau said. "We barricaded ourselves in, then the police arrived and immobilized him."

The attack comes nearly three years since the murder and beheading of another teacher, Samuel Paty, at his school outside Paris.

The perpetrator of that attack, 18-year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, a Russian Muslim refugee, was shot dead by police shortly afterward.

France has been hit by a series of Islamist attacks in recent years. The worst was in November 2015 when gunmen and suicide bombers attacked entertainment venues and cafes in Paris, killing 130 people. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

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