French Officials Call Attack On Soldiers A "Calculated Ambush"

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PARIS, FRANCE (CBSMiami) -- French authorities say the driver of a BMW rammed his vehicle into a group of soldiers as they changed shifts.

Six are hurt and three others have serious injuries.

A local resident heard, what she described as, "screams of pain and distress."

She says, "I saw two bodies, two soldiers on the ground. One was in a really bad way."

Government officials call it a "cowardly" and "calculated ambush."

Specialized forces caught the suspect hours after the attack - after a shootout on a highway in northern France.

The attack happened in a Paris suburb well-known for being the headquarters of France's main intelligence agency.  It's also a staging point for soldiers serving in "Operation Sentinelle" - a unit created to protect French sites after a series of deadly Islamic extremist attacks.

Since 2012, nine police officers have died in terrorist attacks across Paris.

Last weekend, a man shouting, "Allah Akbar" tried to stab a security guard at the Eiffel tower.

In June, there were two terror-related attacks along the Champs-Elysees and at the Notre Dame that specifically targeted police.