With police custody of a minor detained on Saturday extended, three people are now apprehended
Two people were arrested in the early hours of this Sunday (29) as part of the investigation into the failed attack on the Bank of America headquarters in Paris, France’s national anti-terrorism service (Pnat) announced to AFP.
Furthermore, the police custody of a minor detained on Saturday (28) “was prolonged”, added the Pnat. In total, three people are under police surveillance.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that the case has “relationship” with the war in the Middle East.
This Sunday, Nuñez asked security forces to redouble “surveillance measures” across France.
“The context inherent to Israeli and American operations in Iran and the level of threat impose” the “highest level of attention”, wrote the minister in a telegram, to which AFP had access.
What happened
In the early hours of Saturday, French police prevented an attack in front of the Bank of America offices in Paris when detaining the minor, who was preparing to detonate an explosive device, sources close to the case told AFP.
The facts were recorded at around 3:30 am GMT (0:30 am in Brasília), on Boétie Street, in the center-west of Paris, in front of the American bank offices.
The device consisted of a 5 liter transparent container filled with liquid and an ignition system, according to one of the sources.
The payload included a rocket containing approximately 650 grams of explosive material, according to initial evidence.
The detained minor was accompanied by a second individual, who managed to escape. According to a police source, the suspect explained that the other man took him to the location in a vehicle.
He also stated, according to the same source, that was recruited through the Snapchat app to carry out this action in exchange for 600 euros (just over R$3,600, at the current price).
Since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, the Minister of the Interior has increased requests for maximum vigilance to the security forces to protect Iranian opponents, the headquarters of their community associations, Jewish places of worship and American interests, all identified as possible targets of terrorist acts.
*AFP
