Moroccan Man Kills One in French Mosque Attack

Muslims living in Paris, pray on the Rue des Poissoniers, Barbes neighborhood, in Paris, France, 10 September 2010. EPA/BGNES

A man armed with a baseball bat has attacked worshippers at a mosque in France, killing one person and seriously wounding another, police say.

A suspect was detained after the incident in the northern city of Arras in Pas-de-Calais, the BBC reported.

Police sources quoted by Reuters news agency say the man is a 32-year-old French national of Moroccan origin.

The man, who is being questioned, has a history of psychiatric problems, the sources said.

The suspected assailant was held after the incident in the city of Arras, and was described by police sources as having a history of psychiatric problems.

"He is a young Muslim who attended the mosque and was known as someone unbalanced," Abdelkader Assouedj, regional representative for the Federation of the Grand Mosque of Paris, is quoted as saying.