Suspect in killing of French teacher swore allegiance to Islamic State group, prosecutor says

PHOTO CAPTION: An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

PARIS (Reuters) -A 20-year-old man who fatally stabbed a teacher and wounded three others in an Oct. 13 attack at a French school had pledged allegiance to the Islamic state, French anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said on Tuesday.

Ricard also told a news conference that he had requested the opening of a judicial investigation against three people, including the main suspect known as Mohammed M., for crimes linked to terrorism.

Mohammed M., his 16-year old brother and a young cousin, will appear before an anti-terrorism judge, Ricard said, adding he had requested that Mohammed M. and his brother be detained.

"Mohammed M. stated his hatred for France in an audio message pledging allegiance to the Islamic state," he said.

Following the attack in the city of Arras Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said France was on its highest state of alert and that the attack bore a link to events in the Middle East, where Israel is conducting a military offensive to root out Hamas fighters after militants killed 1,300 people in a rampage through Israeli towns last week.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Silvia Aloisi)