A British woman has been killed in a knife attack in a backpackers’ hostel in Australia.
The 21-year-old woman was killed in front of 30 people while a second man, 30, was severely injured in the attack near Townsville, Queensland.
Police are now investigating if the attack was religiously motivated after the 29-year-old French suspect was reported to have shouted the Islamic phrase “Allahu akbar” during the attack.
The stabbing took place at Shelley’s Backpackers in Home Hill which is a popular town with travellers keen to earn money with agricultural work.
A dog was also killed in the attack while a 46-year-old local man also suffered light injuries.