Man Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' Drives Into Crowd

A man heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") has been arrested in France after ploughing his car into crowds of people.

At least 13 people were injured, two of them seriously, after the driver targeted passers-by in five different areas of the eastern city of Dijon.

Witnesses told police he was also heard shouting he was "acting for the children of Palestine" during the rampage, which lasted about half an hour.

It came a day after another man, who was also heard shouting "Allahu Akbar," stabbed three police officers in the central town of Joue-les-Tours.

The motives behind this latest attack remain unclear. French president Francois Hollande has urged authorities to display the "utmost vigilance" following the incidents, and urged the public not to panic.

France's Interior Ministry said the 40-year-old driver was known to authorities for petty offences dating back to the 1990s.

"The man... is apparently unbalanced and had been in a psychiatric hospital," one source said.

There is local media speculation that two other people were in the car at the time of the attack.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has tweeted to express his "solidarity" with the victims, while Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will travel to Dijon later on Monday.

Two attacks within the space of two days have heightened fears in France over the possibility of further "lone wolf" atrocities.

Islamic State and other terrorist organisations have repeatedly called for attacks against France, partly due to its military participation in US-led strikes in Iraq.

Anti-terrorism police are investigating Saturday's attack at the police station in Joue-les-Tours, which left two of the three officers seriously injured.

The 20-year-old attacker was shot dead at the scene.

Mr Cazeneuve told television station TF1 he was "very unstable".

Police suspect the attack to have been motivated by radical Islam.

The Interior Ministry has said it was too early to tell whether there was any connection between the two incidents.