French man stabs UK woman to death at Australian hostel

MELBOURNE, Australia (AA) – Australian police launched investigations Wednesday into whether a French man who stabbed a British woman to death in a backpackers' hostel in Queensland state has links to extremist groups.

News broadcaster ABC reported that the 29-year-old suspect, who was living at the hostel along with the 21-year-old victim, was placed in custody in hospital and has yet to be charged.

A 30-year-old man was critically injured in the incident, which took place in front of around 30 people in Townsville late Tuesday night.

Queensland Police Service Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police “are not ruling out any motivations at this stage, whether they be political or criminal".

"We're working closely with our partner agencies to make sure if there is any indication that it has an extremist slant, or this person had been radicalized, we can discover that,” he was quoted as saying.

"Investigators will also consider whether mental health or drug misuse factors are involved in this incident."

He added that the there were no signs that the suspect, who reportedly used the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar" and who police believe acted alone, had links to Daesh.

ABC also quoted an official from the Islamic Council of Queensland as calling on media to be “more responsible” in reporting on the incident, criticizing hasty speculation on whether it was linked to terrorism.

"Just because someone says 'Allahu akbar' does not mean that person's motivations are religious,” Ali Kadri underlined.

"When Muslim women give birth they say 'Allahu akbar' does that mean the act of giving birth is terrorism?” he added. "I think we should be cautious by not associating this phrase with terrorism and empowering the terrorists."