PARIS – A French police chief was fatally stabbed in front of his home in a Paris suburb late on Monday and a woman was found dead inside, killings the Islamic State’s Amaq news agency said were carried out by the militant group.

The unidentified attacker killed the 42-year-old commander before barricading himself inside the officer’s house. He was shot dead by members of an elite police unit after negotiations failed. The body of the woman was found inside.

Interior ministry officials were not immediately available for comment, while a judicial source said the anti-terrorism unit of the prosecutor’s office had been handed the investigation.

“Source to Amaq agency: Islamic State fighter kills deputy chief of the police station in the city of Les Mureaux and his wife,” Amaq said on its news website.

If it is confirmed Islamic State was behind the murders, it would be the first militant strike on French soil since the government imposed a state of emergency after the multiple attacks on Paris in November that killed 130 people.

The killings took place in the Paris suburb of Magnanville, about 50 km northwest of the French capital and about 20 km from Les Mureaux where the police commander was stationed

A three-year-old boy was rescued unharmed when commandos from the RAID police unit stormed the house.

Officials did not immediately reveal the identity of the 42-year-old officer or the woman, who prosecutor Vincent Lesclous said was “most probably the wife”.

“We have no certainty about the attacker’s motivations,” Lesclous said.

President Francois Hollande will hold a meeting at 7.45 am (local time) his office said before the statement by Amaq was posted.

– Reuters