A French police officer runs during an operation, in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. (Photo: Christophe Ena/AP)
The gunman who killed three people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg was shot dead by French police on Thursday as the Islamic State jihadist group claimed him as one of its “soldiers”.
More than 700 French security forces had been hunting for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt since the bloodshed on Tuesday night — the latest in a string of jihadist attacks to rock France.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said three police tried to question Chekatt after spotting him on the street in the Neudorf area of the northeastern French city where he grew up, but he opened fire.
“They immediately returned fire and neutralized the assailant,” Castaner said. (AFP) _____
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A bullet hole is pictured after the gunman suspected of killing three people in an attack earlier this week was shot dead by police in Strasbourg, eastern France, Friday, Dec.14, 2018. (Photo: Jean-Francois Badias/AP)
This undated file handout photo provided by the French police, shows Cherif Chekatt, the suspect in the shooting in Strasbourg, France. (Photo: French Police via AP)
Picture taken on December 12, 2018 in Strasbourg shows the apartment building where the main suspected gunman lived who opened fire in central Strasbourg the night before. (Photo: Alex Pigman/AFP/Getty Images)
French policemen patrol during the reopening of the Christmas market of Strasbourg, eastern France, on Dec.14, 2018 as the author of the attack was killed on Dec. 13, 2018. The Chrismas market closed as three people were killed and 13 wounded when a lone gunman, identified as Cherif Chekatt, 29, opened fire on shoppers on Dec. 11, 2018. (Photo: Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images)
Investigating police officers work in a street of Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. A man suspected of being the gunman who killed three people near a Christmas market in Strasbourg died in a shootout with police Thursday following a two-day manhunt. (Photo: Jean-Francois Badias/AP)
A French police officer looks at the dead body of a man lying in the doorway of a building after a shootout with police in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. The dead man was suspected of being the gunman who killed three people near a Christmas market in Strasbourg. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the dead man’s identity hasn’t been confirmed yet. But Castaner said the “individual corresponds to the description of the person sought since Tuesday night,” 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt. (Photo: AP)
French police officers stand guard in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. A top French official says a suspect has been killed in a shootout with police in Strasbourg, but his identity has not yet been confirmed as the suspected gunman who killed three people near a Christmas market in the city two days earlier. (Photo: Christophe Ena/AP)
The Eiffel Tower goes dark on Dec. 13, 2018, in memory of the victims of the attack on Christmas shoppers at a market in Strasbourg, northeastern France, on December 11. (Photo: Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)
French special police forces secure an area during a police operation in the Meinau district after the deadly shooting in Strasbourg, France, Dec.13, 2018. (Photo: Christian Hartmann/Reuters)
A sheet of paper reading “all together against barbarism” as people light candles on Dec. 13, 2018, in memory of the victims of the attack near the Christmas market of Strasbourg, in eastern France, on Dec.11, 2018. (Photo: Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images)
French soldiers stand guard near closed wooden barracks shops at the traditional Christkindelsmaerik (Christ Child market) in front of the Cathedral the day after a shooting in Strasbourg, France, Dec.12, 2018. (Photo: Christian Hartmann/Reuters)
A Mourner seen lighting a candle at the Christmas market in Strasbourg France, on Dec. 12, 2018. Mourners gathered near the Strasbourg Christmas market where candles had been lit in remembrance of the victims. (Photo by Elyxandro Cegarra/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Members of the French National Police BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade) during their search for a suspect following a deadly shooting that took place at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, Dec. 12, 2018. (Photo: Patrick Seeger/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Media gather near the Christmas Market where a deadly shooting took place, in Strasbourg, France, Dec. 12, 2018. (Photo: Patrick Seeger/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Members of the French National Police BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade) during their search for a suspect following a deadly shooting that took place at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, Dec. 12, 2018. (Photo: Patrick Seeger/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Emergency workers escort a woman after a shooting near the Christmas market in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Dec.11, 2018. (Photo: Abdesslam Mirdass/AFP/Getty Images)
An emergency worker runs with a stretcher towards the scene of a shooting near the Christmas market in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Dec. 11, 2018. (Photo: Abdesslam Mirdass/AFP/Getty Images)
Policemen patrol in the rue des Grandes Arcades in Strasbourg, eastern France, after a shooting breakout, on Dec. 11, 2018. (Photo: Sébastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images)
French police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting on Dec. 11, 2018 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (Photo: Abdesslam Mirdass/AFP/Getty Images)
Gloves used by emergency services who helped the victims lie on the pavement after a deadly shooting took place in Strasbourg, France, early Dec.12, 2018. (Photo: Patrick Seeger/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
A police car drives in the streets of Strasbourg, eastern France, after a shooting breakout, on December 11, 2018. – At least two people have been killed and 11 critically wounded in a shooting in the French city of Strasbourg, police said, updating the number of victims. (Photo: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images)
This picture taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers treating an injured person in the streets of Strasbourg, eastern France, after a shooting breakout on Dec.11, 2018. (Photo: François D’Astier/AFP/Getty Images)
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