UPDATE 2 - French soldiers injured in vehicle attack

UPDATES WITH ARREST OF SUSPECT

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS (AA) - French security forces have opened fire on a suspect thought to be involved in an attack which injured six French soldiers in Paris earlier on Wednesday.

Paris prefecture said police intercepted a suspicious vehicle on the A16 motorway in northern France. The driver was injured by police gunfire after he tried to escape.

According to a French broadcaster, the driver of the black BMW is a 30-year-old male.

At least six French soldiers were injured on Wednesday morning when a vehicle drove into them in the Levallois-Perret suburb of northwest Paris.

Paris anti-terrorist prosecutors have since opened an investigation into what Interior Minister Gerard Collomb described as a "deliberate" act carried out by a "man on his own".

Defense Minister Florence Parly earlier condemned the "cowardly act" that targeted the troops around 8.00 a.m. (0600 GMT).

The incident, described by police as deliberate, "does nothing to dent soldiers' determination to work for the security of the French people," Parly said in a statement.

Three of the six injured soldiers are in a serious condition, but their lives are not in danger, according to the ministry.

-'Terrorist' incident

Patrick Balkany, the mayor of the suburb, told French broadcaster BFMTV the perpetrator struck the soldiers deliberately at Place de Verdun near the suburb's town hall.

Balkany also described the driver of the vehicle as a "terrorist".

The soldiers targeted in Wednesday’s incident were part of Operation Sentinel -- a nationwide security operation aimed at “protecting against and dissuading” attacks on French soil.

This is the fifth attack on Operation Sentinel soldiers since 2015.

France has been on high alert with enhanced security measures in the wake of deadly terror attacks over the last two years.

Last Saturday, an 18-year-old teenager with a history of psychological problems was arrested at the Eiffel Tower after waving a knife. He later told investigators he wanted to kill a soldier.

On June 19, a man crashed a car containing a gas canister into a police van on the Champs-Elysee before his vehicle exploded into flames. He died at the scene.

On June 6, a 40-year-old Algerian doctorate student who had pledged allegiance to Daesh attacked a policeman with a hammer outside Notre Dame Cathedral. The policeman sustained minor injuries.

Another attack on the Champs Elysee in April saw a French gunman open fire on police officers, killing one and leaving two others in a critical condition. The shooter was killed at the scene.

In March, a 39-year-old man was shot dead at the southern terminal at Orly airport after taking a soldier hostage.