Arrested Islamists Suspected of Planning Attack in France

 

Arrested Islamists Suspected of Planning Attack in France

By REUTERS

Published: March 11, 2013 at 9:39 AM ET

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/03/11/world/europe/11reuters-france-islamists.html?ref=world

 

PARIS (Reuters) - Three suspected Islamist militants arrested in southern

France appeared to be planning an attack in the days ahead, the Paris

prosecutor said on Monday, the anniversary of an al Qaeda-inspired shooting

that rocked France.

Reuters

 

Police found weapons and explosives at the home of one of the suspects in

the town of Marignane, near Marseille, and intercepted communications

between the men suggested they were close to going into action, prosecutor

Francois Molins said.

 

The three men, who were taken in for questioning last week with a fourth man

who was later released, were to be placed under formal investigation later

on Monday.

 

"The investigation showed we were faced with a veritable laboratory for

making improvised explosive devices and, even if we had no evidence of a

precise plan, the messages exchanged by the participants suggested the

timetable could be accelerated," Molins told reporters.

 

The timing of the arrests was poignant, coming exactly a year after

23-year-old gunman Mohamed Merah began a rampage that killed three Jewish

children, a rabbi and three soldiers in the southern city of Toulouse. He

was subsequently tracked down and killed in a shootout with police.

 

Speaking as Defence Minister Le Drian led a memorial ceremony in Toulouse

for Merah's first victim and posthumously awarded him the prestigious

"Legion d'Honneur" medal, Molins said the arrested men, in their 20s, wanted

to emulate Merah.

 

"It was clear they were training themselves in making explosives based on a

jihadist radicalization, a glorification of Mohamed Merah, and an affirmed

desire to go into action."

 

France, which centralizes its terror investigations in Paris, is on high

alert for any home-grown militant activity since its military intervention

against Islamist fighters in Mali in January prompted threats of retaliatory

action.

 

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