Four Terrorist Suspects Arrested in Paris, On Suspicion of Plotting a Possible New Attack

I said earlier Le Fig didn't have anything on this. Now they do.

Parenthetical stuff is mine.

The suspects, three men and a woman surveiled due to a "possible planned attack," have been arrested Wednesday at dawn. They are currently in custody at the headquarters of DGSI (I think that's their security service, the old Surete).

Four presumed radical Islamists have been arrested Wedesday in Paris an in the Paris region and placed in custody, indicated sources in the police and prosecutor's offices, confirming a report by TF1 (a news channel). The arrests had taken place in the early morning in two Paris arrondissements and in Seine-Saint-Denis (the northern banlieu that causes so much trouble). The suspects, three men and a woman, all [noted as part of "File S" for radicalization (File S being a sort of security watch list for threats against the state)], were arrested upon the issuance of a writ of the DGSI (General Directory of Interior Security). They were watched due to reason of suspicion of a "possible planned attack." One of them was subject to house arrest during any declaration of a state of emergency.

The minister of the Interior Bernard Cazenueve said Wednesday night in a press conference at the Senate that one of the four suspects was indeed suspected of preparing "violent actions in France." "We have had, concerning an individual who has been arrested, some information according to which he could engage in violent actions in France. This individual would have been in contact with individuals in Syria belonging to ISIS," he explained. The suspect in question would have been sentenced in March 2014 to five years in prison, one of which was suspended, for trying to travel to Syria with two other persons, according to a source close to the case. Freed from prison last October, he had been assigned to house arrest in the a state of emergency initiated after the November attacks. His girlfriend and two other people were also arrested..

Note: I do not know why they say "might have" or "could have" so much.

Not an Imminent Threat

The minister had nevertheless called for "prudence" and put into perspective reports about a an "imminent" planned attack. Nothing actually at the moment supports the suspicions of the DGSI. No weapons were found during the raids, only information on computers and digital media. Seized by the police, they will be analyzed. The site TFI mentions "one Kalichnikov bullet, unfired" and a "starter's pistol" which might have been found in the location but these reporters have not been confirmed.

I think it's a starter's pistol at least.

The four suspects are currently being heard at headquarters of the DGSI, at Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb). Their holding period has been extended up to 96 hours. At his arrival at a [book exhibition in Paris], Francis Hollande called for "the greatest possible vigilance." "The level of threat remains very high. We've seen it these last few hours in Brussels (were other terror raids took place). One can see it with these arrests," he continued.

Where I said "File S" they actually say "Fiche 'S'." Fiche just means file. But maybe you want to know the actual term. I think there's at least three levels, Fiche S-1, S-2, S-3, depending on the level of threat. I'm not sure what the worst level is.

I think it's kind of a cool term. Like X Files. Only not as cool as that.

posted by Ace at 03:13 PM

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