A man stabbed two people to death with a knife and injured four in Paris, the Capital of France on Saturday night before he was shot dead by police officers. The attack took place in the city’s main opera house, which is an area full of restaurants, bars and theatres, AFP reported.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. “The executor of the stabbing operation in the city of Paris is a soldier of the Islamic State, and the operation was carried out in response to the calls to target the coalition states,” the SITE Intelligence Group reported the terrorist organisation’s Amaq news agency as saying.

The man is said to have attacked five people. The police first received a call about the attacker at 8.47 pm local time (12 minutes past midnight Indian Standard Time), Reuters reported. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the police were on the scene within five minutes and the terrorist was “neutralised” quickly.

The attacker reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) before stabbing his victims. Police union representative Rocco Contento told Reuters that the assailant then rushed at police officers shouting “I will kill you, I will kill you!”, before being shot dead.

Prosecutor Francois Molins said an anti-terrorism unit would launch an investigation. Authorities have not revealed the attacker’s identity.

“France will not yield an inch to the enemies of freedom,” President Emmanuel Macron said after the attack. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb called it an “odious” attack.