A teenage girl, 16, is among three people charged over plans to carry out an “imminent terror attack” in France after police reportedly found explosives in a flat. According to reports, the group was arrested in Montpelier, on Friday on suspicion of planning an “explosive belt” attack in an area popular with tourists.

They were indicted on Tuesday for ‘criminal association in connection with a criminal terrorist enterprise’, the sources said. Sauret and his partner were also charged with making and possessing explosives in an organized group. The case is being handled by anti-terrorism investigators, the sources said.

Police swooped on Friday after the teenager pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video on social media and she and Sauret, both converts to Islam, bought acetone and hydrogen peroxide – precursors of an unstable, homemade explosive called TATP.

“An imminent terrorist act was being prepared,” Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said on Monday.

Seized computer and telephone equipment reportedly suggested the Eiffel Tower could have been considered as a target, although a source said: “at this point, there is nothing indicating a plan for a clearly defined target”. Last week Police sources in Montpellier confirmed that a raid on a council estate in the city was “underway and that four people have been arrested”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like