Suicide plot targeting 'French theme park and police officers' foiled

A theme park and a top police location were among the targets of a suspected Daesh terror attack in France that was foiled over the weekend, The Independent on Wednesday quoted local media reports as having said. 

Seven suspected terrorists, of French, Moroccan and Afghan nationalities, were arrested in Strasbourg and Marseille in a series of coordinated raids on Saturday and Sunday. 

The suspects, aged between 29 and 38, were detained after an eight-month investigation by French security services. 

The surveillance came to a climax due to the group’s “nervousness” as they awaited a weapons delivery, reportedly sparking intelligence agencies to spring into action as the risk to public safety increased.

Police uncovered three automatic pistols: a glock, a Sig Sauer and a dismantled handgun during the raids, along with multiple nine millimetre cartridges and documents linking the suspects to Daesh, including telephones, SIM cards and details for messaging application Telegram, according to iTele. 

Details of the specific location of the attacks remain unknown, however the mayor of Strasbourg said it appeared the plot had focused on "the Paris region".

Fresh details have also emerged surrounding the identity of the suspects, with security sources confirming some had fought in Syria and were linked to the Isis cell that carried out the Paris attacks in November 2015 that killed 130 people.

One of those intercepted in Strasbourg, named only as 38-year-old Yasin B, was a preschool monitor who went to Syria via Cyprus in 2015.

Source: MENA