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French man murders British woman, injures others in Australian hostel

A 29-year-old Frenchman has been arrested in Australia for allegedly stabbing three people - one of them fatally - in a backpackers' hostel. He is reported to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" but police say they are treating the attack as a criminal, not a terrorist, act.

The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland Getty Images/Vetta/Gallo Images
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A 21-year-old British woman, Mia Ayliffe-Chung, died and a 30-year-old British man was critically injured after what eyewitnesses described as a "terrible scene" at the hostel in Home Hill, a rural town south of Townsville in far north Queensland, late on Tuesday.

A 46-year-old local man suffered less serious injuries and a dog was killed.

The man, who was in Australia on a tourist visa, reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) during the attack and when police arrived at the hostel.

But he had no known links to violent organisations and the case was being treated as homicide, police said.

"There is no known ongoing threat to the community arising from this incident," Queensland Police Service Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said.

"This is not about race or religion. It is individual criminal behaviour."

Police will investigate whether drugs or mental health questions played a role.

There were more than 30 witnesses to the incident and there was no known hostility between the attacker and his victims.

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