France: Dozens Arrested, Fears of New Terrorist Attacks
Local Editor
In the aftermaths of the terrorist attacks that hit Paris last Friday, French PM Manuel Valls warned that France will have to live under a terrorist threat for years to come and must be prepared for further attacks.
Valls' statement came in reference to the attacks on Friday November 13 that left 129 people dead and over 350 injured.
"We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too," he said.
France would be living with the threat of terror attacks "for a long time", he said.
Valls said he was struck by the fact that young people had been targeted in Friday's attacks on a concert hall, bars and restaurants and outside the Stade de France stadium that left 129 people dead.
"Once again the terrorists have attacked France, the French people, young people. Many young people are dead," he said.
French police have carried out "more than 150" raids on suspected Islamists since the attacks on Paris, Valls added, as a source in the southeastern city of Lyon said an arsenal of weapons had been seized there.
In this context, French authorities stated that anti- terrorist raids are currently underway across the country.
The operations aim at tracking down suspect "ISIS" terrorists, some of which are conducted in the city of Toulouse South of France.
In parallel, the raids in the city of Lyon in east-central France have resulted in at least five arrested and seizure of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades.
Meanwhile, at least 200 armed personnel are deployed in the city, a local newspaper reported.
French authorities have so far identified five terrorists out of seven killed while staging the attacks. Their relatives have been detained and are being questioned.
This come amid an international manhunt for a 26-year-old French national suspected of being "directly involved" in the attacks.
French and Belgian authorities released a photo and issued an international arrest warrant for the 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam, saying the man is very dangerous.
One of Salah's brothers has been identified as the perpetrator of one of the suicide attacks.
So far, the investigation said that up to 20 perpetrators might have been behind the deadly assaults in the French capital.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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