Security forces killed the gunman — believed to be a Moroccan who was on a watchlist of suspected Islamic extremists — after he carried out three separate attacks in the medieval town of Carcassonne and nearby Trebes.

The man first hijacked a car in Carcassonne, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, before shooting a policeman who was out jogging with his colleagues near

He then drove to a Super U supermarket in the sleepy town of Trebes and holed up there for more than three hours with hostages, killing at least two people, according to sources.

A witness reported that the assailant was armed with knives, a gun and grenades and shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) before going into the supermarket.

“A man shouted and started firing several times,” one shopper at the supermarket told FranceInfo radio station.

“I saw an open door for a refrigerated area and I told people to come to shelter there,” she said.

“We were 10 people and we got out by the emergency exit at the back.”

After letting his hostages go, the gunman remained in the store with just one policeman, who along with another officer was shot and injured when anti-terror forces swooped on the building.

The killing spree came with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the quick reactions of the emergency services and said he would be returning to Paris from Brussels at the end of an EU summit so he can coordinate the national response.

– ‘Terrorist act’ –

Three helicopters could be seen circling over Trebes, a picturesque medieval town of around 5,000 people, while heavily armed police had closed down roads surrounding the supermarket.

The local prosecutors’ office were treating the incident as a terror attack and said the gunman had claimed to be acting in the name of IS.

“All the information we currently have leads us to believe it is a terrorist act,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said while on a visit to Mulhouse in eastern France, cutting short the trip.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was on his way to the scene.

The terror attacks in France started in January 2015 with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.

France also suffered major attacks in Paris in November 2015 when IS jihadists killed 130 people in bombings and shootings at bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert venue and the national stadium.

In July 2016, in another attack claimed by IS, a man drove a truck through revellers celebrating Bastille Day in the Riviera resort of Nice, killing 84 people.

A state of emergency put in place just after the Paris attacks was finally lifted in October last year, but soldiers continue to patrol major tourist sites and transport hubs under an anti-terror mission.

The attacks were the first deadly assault in France by a suspected jihadist since October, when two young women were stabbed to death outside Marseille’s main train station.

The area of southwest France where Friday’s shootings took place has been traumatised by Islamic extremism before.

In 2012, Mohamed Merah shot dead seven people including three Jewish schoolchildren in nearby Toulouse./AFP

Armed police were also responding to the earlier shooting of a policeman in the town of Carcassonne, 15 minutes drive away, which took place at around 11 am (1000 GMT).  It was unclear if the two incidents were linked.

In Trebes, a picturesque medieval town of around 5,000 people, the man “entered the Super U supermarket at around 11.15 am and shots were heard,” a source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A witness reported he shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) before going into the premises, the source added.

– Site off-limits –

The gunman claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, the local prosecutor’s office said, and the incident was being treated as a terror attack.

Local authorities tweeted that the area around the supermarket was off-limits to the public, while Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said it was a “serious” incident.

The shootings come with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015, starting in January that year with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.

France also suffered major attacks in Paris in November 2015 when IS jihadists killed 130 people in bombings and shootings at bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert venue and the national stadium.

In July 2016, in another attack claimed by IS, a man drove a truck through revellers celebrating Bastille Day in the Riviera resort of Nice, killing 84 people.

A state of emergency put in place just after the Paris attacks was finally lifted in October last year, but soldiers continue to patrol major tourist sites and transport hubs under an anti-terror mission.

If the link to Islamic State is confirmed, the hostage-taking would be the first deadly attack in France since October, when two young women were stabbed to death outside Marseille’s main train station.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was heading to the scene, he wrote on Twitter.

The area of southwest France where Friday’s shootings took place has been scarred by Islamic extremism before.

In 2012, Mohamed Merah shot dead seven people including three Jewish schoolchildren in the nearby city of Toulouse.//AFP

As a gesture of goodwill the low-cost airline will be waiving all fees to transport bicycles for April, said its CEO Riad Asmat.

“As a cyclist myself, I was pretty disturbed when I saw the actions of our staff. Rest assured, we’ve taken action. We are looking into the matter very seriously and stern action will be taken accordingly.

“I hope we will continue to improve ourselves. Attention has been put into this particular example,” Riad said in a video that was posted on the airlines’ Facebook page on Thursday.

A cyclist had posted a video of a few bicycles being “mishandled” by ramp staff upon his return to KLIA2 from Kaoshiung, Taiwan recently. The video subsequently went viral.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said that while the ground handling company is a joint venture called GTR, the airline would take full responsibility for the incident.

“After meeting all my ramp boys and girls, I’m really disappointed. We are a company that if we make a mistake we stand up and take the heat. We will get better. Apologies,” he said in a Facebook post that was accompanied by the video.

Febianca Putri, 24, a Jakarta-based writer, said she believed the case was a wake-up call for her to be more careful with social media, but she had no plans to deactivate her account.

“I will remain on Facebook, because a lot of my friends and relatives are on Facebook. But I will be more vigilant, especially toward unverified apps,” said Febianca, who has been on Facebook since 2007.

Ririn Herlinawaty, 24, a Bandung Institute of Technology graduate student, said the use of Facebook accounts for political purposes was unexpected.

“It was a big slap in the face for me and I felt betrayed by the social network’s terms and conditions,” she said.

The data case came to light when Cambridge Analytica, a United Kingdom firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was found to have allegedly misused the data of 50 million users for political purposes.

“I am actually fine if Facebook used my profile and other personal data for commercial purposes. But for politics? That’s what I fear,” Ririn said, adding that she was unsure whether she would deactivate her account.

Following the allegations of data harvesting, a global movement to boycott Facebook began, with hashtags #DeleteFacebook and #BoycottFacebooktrending on the internet. The movement has generated debate among Indonesian social media users. Those in the boycott camp, citing the rampant spread of fake news on Facebook, reasoned that other social media platforms had long taken over Facebook as the platform of choice.

“It’s too late for me. I deactivated my FB account two years ago, when hoaxes were booming,” said Twitter user @SayaIbuID on Wednesday.

However, many users vowed to not let go of their accounts. Twitter user@bobwiratama tweeted, “Why #DeleteFacebook? Besides, they provide the option of setting up privacy preferences.”

Another Twitter user, @RickoBRN, said he needed Facebook for his online business. “[…] we can meet people who have the same hobby. Why, then, do we have to #DeleteFacebook?” he said on Tuesday.

Nukman Luthfie, the founder of the Social Media Literacy Institution, said he believed the case in the United States would not significantly impact Indonesian users, reasoning that there was no evidence to suggest that data harvesting took place in the country.

“Hence, it won’t concern Indonesian users. Besides, lots of users still see the platform as their main source of nostalgic memories,” he said.

Indonesia has the fourth-highest number of Facebook users in the world. As of January, Indonesia recorded 130 million accounts — 6 percent of the global population of Facebook users — according to market statistics portal Statista.

As the third-largest democracy in the world, Indonesia was more vulnerable to smear campaigns, said digital rights group Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet).

“Data breaches for political purposes might happen in the upcoming regional elections and again during the presidential election next year,” said Damar Juniarto, the group’s regional coordinator.

Thus, the government should be looking to expedite deliberation of a data protection law.

In response to the data case, the government had taken preventive measures, including assessing the behavior of Indonesian users on the platform, said Anton Setiyawan, the spokesman of the newly established National Cyber and Encryption Agency.

“We have been looking into how Indonesian users respond to one political issue and how they transform it into action,” Anton said.

Meanwhile, Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said his ministry had yet to find cases of data hijacking in the country.

“I urge the public to consider this scandal as a wake-up call on the importance of data privacy,” he told The Jakarta Post. 

To the shock of those present, Dr Mahathir dared them to call him old in person.

I’m here, guys. Say it to my face,” the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman posted on Twitter along with a picture of himself sitting while facing the forum’s panellists and moderator.

Dr Mahathir reportedly arrived at the forum with his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Ali about an hour after it started at 3.15pm yesterday.

Sinar Harian, which organised the forum, quoted the former prime minister of 22 years as saying he was still active physically and mentally.

“There are two types of age – one in terms of years and another in terms of the body. The age of the body does not necessarily equate to the age in years.

“There are those who are only 50 but have ageing-associated diseases such as dementia, and there are those who are old but can still think innovatively,” he said when given the microphone to speak.

He was seated in the front row of the forum, together with other forum attendees.

Setting the record straight: Dr Mahathir, accompanied by Dr Siti Hasmah, speaking at the forum in Shah Alam.

To a question on how he looked after his health, Dr Mahathir, who is Pakatan Hara­pan’s prime minister candidate, said he did not overeat.

“My mother used to tell me to stop eating when food is tasty,” he said.

The forum panellists comprised fitness instructor Kevin Zahri Abdul Ghaffar, psychologist Prof Datuk Dr Mat Saat Mohd Baki and Universiti Utara Malaysia political science lecturer Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff.

Dr Kamarul Zaman had said that no matter how healthy a person was, there would come a time when he would be weak.

“Leading a party is tough because of the age factor and a person’s strength,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

In a blog post earlier, Dr Mahathir, who will turn 93 in July, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak did not need to be afraid of debating him.

“YAB (Najib) is still young. What is there to be afraid of in debating a 92-year-old person?” he said.

He added that he realised he did not have much time left but as long as he still had life in his body, he would fight for his race, religion and country

The fire in the Carina Plaza highrise building started around midnight on the lower floors of the building and soon spread to the upper floors.

An official told AFP that many of the victims died of suffocation as they tried to flee the fire by running to higher floors.

“Thirteen people were pulled out dead and more than a dozen others injured. They died from suffocation,” the official from the neighbourhood’s government office told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

She said officials had not yet determined the cause of the fire.

Photos on social media showed residents being rescued from balconies and plumes of black smoke rising from the tall building.

The fire was extinguished by dawn Friday, though the area was shrouded in thick smoke for several hours, according to images on state-run media.

The site was littered with charred motorbikes and other debris Friday as firefighters cleared the area.

Le Thi Vang told state-run VNExpress that she and her family were jolted awake by a loud blast in their second-floor apartment, which quickly filled with smoke.

“We ran out and smoke was everywhere. We did not know where to run, so we had to jump down,” Vang, 45, told the news site.

According to reports, the blaze may have started in the underground parking garage that connected adjacent blocks of the apartment complex.

The large apartment complex includes several buildings between 15 and 22 storeys high and was built six years ago in a residential neighbourhood of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s largest city.

The complex has a swimming pool, tennis court, kindergartens and shops on site, according to its website.

It was Vietnam’s deadliest fire since 2016 when a blaze in a karaoke bar in Hanoi left 13 people dead, mostly government workers who died in the soundproof chambers.

That fire, believed to have been started by sparks from welders working outside, prompted a country-wide assessment of fire prevention measures at bars and clubs.

Blazes are relatively common in Vietnam where fire prevention and firefighting services are limited.//AFP