FRANCE: Four suspected Islamist militants arrested this week in a raid near Paris that unearthed possible bomb-making devices were without doubt preparing at least one attack, France's Interior Ministry said yesterday.
"There is no doubt that, given the materials found, one or several terrorist attacks were being planned in the relatively short term," it said in a statement. "All those detained declared during custody their support for the jihad (holy war)," it said.
The ministry statement named Mr Merouane Benhamed as one of those arrested, saying he was an Algerian militant who had taken part in conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Two suspects said they had received training in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, it added.
The statement confirmed information from police sources on Thursday that two separate raids on premises in the northern Paris suburb of La Courneuve this week had unearthed devices for possible use as detonators and the iron trichloride chemical, which can be used in explosives.
