French Police are investigating the stabbing of a soldier near Paris as a terrorist attack. 

An attacker stabbed the soldier who was on patrol with two other troops in La Defense, a business district west of the capital.  Investigators say the culprit is reportedly believed to be of North African descent; reportedly used a knife or a box cutter; and was wearing a light-colored robe called a djellaba, which he took off to reveal western-style clothing as he blended into a crowded shopping area.

Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian told reporters that the soldier was targeted.  President Francois Hollande said that so far, there is no direct link with the killing of a soldier in London last week, for which two suspected Islamists were arrested.

France is on high alert following a threat from the North African wing of al-Qaeda, related to the country's military intervention in Mali.