Two women killed in Marseille knife attack and counter-terror investigation opened

Two women have been killed in a knife attack at the main train station in Marseille, French officials have said, while a counter-terrorism investigation has been opened into it.

The male attacker was "shot" and killed by soldiers according to police.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said police have video that showed the man attacking a woman and running away, and then coming back and attacking a second woman.

One woman was stabbed to death and the other woman's throat was slit, a source said.

An anti-terror investigation has been opened to look into the incident, in which local media reports the attacker shouted "allahu akbar"

So-called Islamic State claimed the attack was the work of one of its "soldiers".

French police warned people to avoid the station, though it partially reopened later on Sunday.

Following the attack, Mr Collomb tweeted that he was going immediately to the scene "after the attack perpetrated near Saint Charles train station."

The Paris prosecutor's office, which oversees all terror cases in France, said it had opened a counter-terrorism investigation into the attack.

President Emmanuel Macron said he was "deeply outraged by this barbaric act" in a statement on Twitter and paid tribute to the soldiers who responded "with cool heads and efficiency".