UPDATED: "Allahu akbar!" Islamic hostage-taking in France

Up at the crack of dawn. Normally I seal up the crack and go back to bed. This morning, however, there's a breaking story from France which I want to put up, to remind you, dear reader, that just because the Islamic terrorists have been more active, lately, at home in Armpitistan, doesn't mean that there's no longer any threat to Europe or America.

From the south of France -- a small town called Trebes, south of Toulouse -- comes news of a hostage-taking (in progress as I write) which Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says "seems to be a terrorist act." In accordance with the political correctness which is now de rigueur throughout western Europe, he did not use the words "Islamic" or "Muslim", but we all know who he's talking about, n'est-ca pas.

Seems someone -- possibly a militant Muslim -- shot a cop and then holded up inside a Super-U supermarket. A spokesthingy for the Interior Ministry, which controls the gendarmerie and other security forces, told AP there is one suspect and police are trying to subdue him. He provided no details of how many people were inside the supermarket or were believed held hostage. There are unconfirmed media reports that the assailant claimed connections to ISIS. Quelle surprise!

The French prime minister has described the situation as "very serious," and President Emmanuel Macron has asked Interior Minister Gerard Collomb to go to the scene. The Paris prosecutor's office said counterterrorism investigators have taken over the probe into the ongoing incident, but didn't provide details on why. They didn't have to. "Allahu akbar!"

UPDATED AT 0600: Inspector Clouseau now says two people have been killed and about a dozen others wounded. He then the pronounced the ritualistic words that "the motive for the hostage-taking is unclear."

UPDATED AT 1400: The  death toll in the Islamic terrorist attack now stands at 3. Make that 4 if you add in the Muslim extremist attacker, now identified as Redouane Lakdim, 26, a native of Morocco. He was shot dead (and a good thing, too) when police stormed the supermarket in which he had holed up. Police now say that they had been watching M Lakdim, who was suspected of having been "radicalized". Turns out they just weren't watching him closely enough.

Footnote: In the first paragraph I mentioned that the Islamic terrorists had been more active of late at home in Armpitistan. The mojo wire just now spat out news of a car bombing outside a sports stadium in Afghanistan's Helmand province. 14 people were killed and 45 wounded. The office of Afghan president Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning the "brutal terrorist attack."

Another footnote: These attacks occurred just days after Pope Francis declared that there is no connection between Islam and terrorism. Scroll down to Walt's post earlier this week. The Pope, of course, does not live anywhere near southern France, let alone Afraghanistan.