French Police Foil Imminent Terror Attack in Paris

Local Editor

French security services had prevented an "imminent" terrorist attack in Paris and arrested a suspected Takfiri extremist, according to the interior minister.

The suspect, a university student who appeared to have shot himself in the leg, was taken into custody after an arsenal of weapons was found in his car and his lodgings.

The cache of arms included four "Kalashnikov-style" automatic weapons, bullet-proof vests, several police armbands and the detailed plans of several Parisian police stations.

"A terrorist attack was foiled on Sunday morning," Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said on Wednesday.

"The police discovered an arsenal of weapons of war. A document was also found showing without any doubt that the individual was planning to imminently carry out an attack. The suspect was immediately taken into custody" he continued.

Cazeneuve said the man appeared to be targeting one or two churches. The 24-year-old Franco-Algerian was known to intelligence services for wanting to fight in Syria alongside Takfiri militants.

His DNA was later found in the car of a young mother from northern France who died in mysterious circumstances over the weekend near Paris.

Furthermore, the French minister declared that apart from the weapons, police had also discovered detailed research "clearly establishing that the person was planning to commit an imminent attack against one or two churches".

Hence, the arrest came more than three months after Takfiri extremists went on a three-day killing spree in and around Paris, leaving 17 people dead.

In a similar notion, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls reiterated government warnings that the country was facing an "unprecedented terrorist threat".

"Terrorists are targeting France to divide us and our response must of course be to protect citizens but also to rally together, unite and to be hugely determined faced with this terrorist threat," he said.

Though, the attack was foiled by chance after the suspect called police on Sunday morning, saying he was injured, according to police sources, who asked to remain anonymous.

Cazeneuve promised Wednesday that the probe would determine why Chatelain was killed, and reiterated that the country was faced with an "unprecedented terrorist threat".

Hundreds of French nationals had left France to join Takfiri ranks in Iraq and Syria, where they represent almost half the number of European fighters present, according to a report released this month by the upper house Senate.

Accordingly, authorities were concerned that these nationals would come back and commit attacks on home turf.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team