Three jihadists, suspected of planning an attack, were arrested Tuesday in Clermont-Ferrand, Marseille and Val-de-Marne, by the French anti-terrorist services. The suspects are all known for radicalisation and had been closely followed and had their phones tapped by police officers over several months, according to sources close to the matter.
“The individuals arrested had a project that was sufficiently advanced for the police officers of the Directorate General of Internal Security to decide on their arrest,” according to a reliable source.
The network had decided to “go green” after the recent arrests of alleged Islamists in Montpellier, according to Le Figaro, the respected French daily.
The three men were placed in custody during a preliminary investigation opened in January by the anti-terrorist section of the Paris prosecutor’s office, a judicial source said. A demining operation was carried out in Clermont-Ferrand at the home of one of the suspects in the Fontaine du Bac district. The police discovered two “soft air” type dummy assault rifles, a tactical vest and a plaster grenade.
France, originally placed under a state of emergency following the attacks of November 2015, still faces a “very high” terrorist threat.
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