|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paris 'terror plot' probe: 4 held
PARIS, France -- Police in Paris have arrested four people in connection with a suspected plot to carry out terror attacks during the Christmas and New Year holidays. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said anti-espionage agents arrested four suspects and seized two phials of unidentified chemicals, as well as a protective suit for use against chemical or biological arms during the raid in the northern Paris suburb of La Courneuve. He told parliament on Tuesday the suspects were thought to have spent time in Chechnya and that one had links with Rabah Kadre, one of three North Africans held in Britain on terror-related charges. "Even before we know the precise results of the analyses (on the products seized), it was better to arrest them before rather than wait until after," Sarkozy told parliament. He said false identity papers and large sums of cash had also been found. Police sources told Reuters news agency they had yet to draw conclusions on what kind of operation, if any, was being planned and hoped to know more when results of the analyses were available later. Sarkozy said three Algerians and a Moroccan were arrested as part of the operation by anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere. He gave no details on the suspects' time spent in Chechnya, where a separatist conflict with Russia is seen as a training ground for Muslim militants. Nor did the minister elaborate on the relationship of one of them with Kadre. The British government has played down media speculation that Kadre, 35, and two others could have been planning a gas attack on the London underground rail network. The three have been charged with "possession of articles for the preparation, instigation and commission of terrorism acts." Le Figaro and another newspaper, La Parisien, said in addition to the chemicals, $5,000 in cash, Islamic propaganda, and a computer were found in the apartment where the suspects were living. France can hold terror suspects for questioning for up to four days, after which they must either be released or placed under formal investigation. France has launched several raids in recent weeks to hunt down Islamist militants amid fears the al Qaeda network and other groups were planning attacks in the run-up to Christmas. Police arrested a group of people in the Paris suburbs in November in connection with the so-called shoebomber, Richard Reid, a British man who attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight last year with explosives in his shoes. The arrests were made as part of an investigation led by Jean-Louis Bruguiere, France's top anti-terrorist judge, who is investigating several plots and attacks both in France and abroad. He has broad powers to pursue suspects, search their homes, tap their phones, arrest, interrogate and charge them. The Associated Press said Bruguiere has stepped up arrests in France. More than 20 suspects have been taken into custody in five operations since November 24, of which eight are still in custody. Most recently, Bruguiere last week ordered the detention of three suspects in his investigation into an alleged suicide bombing plot against the U.S. Embassy in Paris. They were later released. Reuters contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
