Man arrested after Paris knife attack wounds 7

French police have detained a man they allege wounded seven people in a knife attack in central Paris, but say there is no initial indication the incident was linked to terrorism.

The attacker, who one police source said was fromAfghanistan, stabbed tourists and passersby along the Bassin de la Villette, a popular outdoor canal area in the northeast ofParis where many people gather on warm evenings.

Among those stabbed were two British tourists, a judicialsource said. They and two others remain in hospital with severewounds, although they are not thought to be life threatening.

Witnesses cited by French media said a group of men playingboules threw heavy metal ballsused in the populargame at the attacker, with one hitting him on the head andstalling him.

Thierry, a witness quoted on BFM TV, said a group of peoplethen assailed the attacker.

"Someone with a wooden stick smashed him across the kneesand he fell to the ground," he said. "Loads of people arrived,some were saying 'kill him' but one guy who was pinning him downsaid 'no, the last thing we must do is kill him.'"

Police and ambulance crews arrived on the scene shortlyafterwards, witnesses said, and the man was taken into custody.

While the motives for the attack remain unclear, a judicialsource said it did not appear to be akin to other attacks carried out by Muslim militants in Paris in recent years.

"Police didn't find any initial indication the attack waslinked to terrorism," the source said. "But the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office is following how the investigation proceedsclosely."

Paris has suffered a number of militant attacks sinceNovember 2015, when a series of co-ordinated strikes by Islamistgunmen and suicide bombers killed 129 people in the capital, anassault planned by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and its adherents.