Six people were killed and eight were wounded when gunmen opened fire at a Quebec mosque during Sunday night prayers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a "terrorist attack on Muslims".
Police said two suspects had been arrested, but gave no details about them or what prompted the attack. This was reported by Reuters.
JUST IN: Video shows police in Quebec City responding to reports of deadly shooting at Mosque. https://t.co/OfIp2Nx1u9 pic.twitter.com/KPeDuZD4V4
— ABC News (@ABC) 30 января 2017 г.
"Six people are confirmed dead - they range in age from 35 to about 70," Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Christine Coulombe told reporters, adding eight people were wounded and 39 were unharmed.
Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. The face-covering, or niqab, became a big issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.
In 2013, police investigated after a mosque in the Saguenay region of the province was splattered with what was believed to be pig blood. In the neighboring province of Ontario, a mosque was set on fire in 2015, a day after an attack by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris.
Earlier it was reported Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemns terrorist attacks in Egypt, Israel, Iraq and Turkey. "We express our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those killed, and wish a quick and full recovery to the wounded," noted in the department.