One dead in knife attack in Trappes, France

An Islamic radical has killed his mother and sister in a knife attack in the outer Paris suburb of Trappes.

Trappes is about 30 kilometres southwest of Paris.

An Islamic radical has killed his mother and sister in a knife attack in the outer Paris suburb of Trappes.

The attacker, a man in his 30s, gravely wounded a passer-by, also a woman, before he was shot dead by police.

“The police operation is over. The person was neutralised and is dead,” the local prefecture said.

French television station BFM said the man was well known to police for promoting radical ­Islamist beliefs and was charged back in 2016 for being an apologist for terrorism.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack that happened in the street just after 10am (6pm AEST).

Le Parisien said the man threatened passers-by when he was inside a house and was shouting “Allahu Akbar, if you enter I smoke you all”.

“My first thoughts go to the victims and their loved ones,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on Twitter.

“I want to commend the security forces for their exemplary reaction and mobilisation.”

Trappes has a population of about 30,000 and is part of the far suburbs of the greater Paris area.

Only a short drive from the wealthy area of Versailles, home to the world-famous Versailles Palace, the town is known for its social problems linked to poverty, gangs and hardline interpretations of Islam.

It has a large Muslim population and about 50 locals are suspected of having left France to fight for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.