French women and youth in court over alleged terror plots
The women, who are believed to have been spurred by repeated calls by the Islamic State group for attacks in France
Members of the public gather for the lighting of a candle display on December 8, 2015 in Lyon, in tribute to victims of the November 13 Paris terrorist attacks, and as a replacement for the cancelled annual Festival of Lights, a secular version of a religious tradition devoted to the Virgin Mary and dating back to 153 years ago. PHOTO: AFP
Three French female radicals arrested on suspicion of planning further attacks after a failed bid to blow up a car in Paris were taken to court to be charged on Monday, prosecutors said.
The women, who are believed to have been spurred by repeated calls by the Islamic State group for attacks in France, are suspected of having planned to strike a train station in the Paris area or to target police.
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The three were brought before anti-terrorism judges. They face charges of involvement in a terrorist conspiracy and attempted murder. Sources close to the investigation said they had discussed obtaining suicide belts or ramming cars filled with explosives into buildings.
One of the women was found in possession of a letter professing her allegiance to IS, which ordered or claimed several attacks in France over the past year, including the carnage in Paris in November that left 130 people dead.
A 15-year-old boy arrested in eastern Paris at the weekend was also brought before investigating magistrates Monday to be charged with conspiring to commit attacks.
The youth had written to contacts on Telegram -- the encrypted messaging app widely used by jihadists in France -- of his plans to carry out a knife attack, sources said.
France is on heightened alert after two grisly attacks in July -- one in the Riviera resort of Nice, where a truck driver crushed 86 people to death and another in Normandy, where two men slit the throat of an elderly priest. Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Sunday said the terror threat was at a "maximum" and that the authorities were foiling attacks and smashing jihadist networks "every day".
The three women in court were arrested last week as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to blow up a car found abandoned near Notre Dame cathedral on September 4.
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They have been named as Ines Madani, 19, Sarah H., 23 and Amel S., 39. The two younger women were known to police for their links to Islamist radicals.
Sarah H.'s current boyfriend, 22-year-old Mohamed Lamine A., was also arrested and brought before judges to be charged on Monday.
Police alerted last week to the Peugeot 607 found in the middle of one of Paris's busiest tourist spots found five gas cylinders, three bottles of diesel and a half-smoked cigarette inside.
A fourth woman, Ornella G, who has been charged with terrorism over the find, told police she and Madani had tried to set the vehicle alight but fled when they saw a man they believed to be a police officer approach.
Investigators moved quickly to arrest her suspected accomplices, believing them to be on the cusp of staging an attack.
During their arrest in the southern Paris suburb of Essonne, Sarah H. stabbed a policeman, injuring him in the shoulder. Madani was shot in the leg after she also charged at an officer armed with a knife.
A police search of one of the women's homes found seven empty glass bottles and pieces of paper that "could look like paper fuses" but no explosives.
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Investigators have been trawling through the contacts of Rachid Kassim, a 29-year-old French IS member suspected of directing people over Telegram to carry out attacks.
Kassim has regularly appeared in IS propaganda videos shot in Syria or Iraq. He is said to have been in contact with Madani and the 15-year-old arrested in eastern Paris.
He also exchanged messages with the murderers of priest Jacques Hamel. Sarah H. had been in a relationship with Adel Kermiche, one of Hamel's killers.
Before that she had been seeing Larossi Abballa who stabbed a police couple to death at their home near Paris in June.
Both men were shot dead by police.
The women, who are believed to have been spurred by repeated calls by the Islamic State group for attacks in France, are suspected of having planned to strike a train station in the Paris area or to target police.
US response to 9/11 increased terror threat: Hollande
The three were brought before anti-terrorism judges. They face charges of involvement in a terrorist conspiracy and attempted murder. Sources close to the investigation said they had discussed obtaining suicide belts or ramming cars filled with explosives into buildings.
One of the women was found in possession of a letter professing her allegiance to IS, which ordered or claimed several attacks in France over the past year, including the carnage in Paris in November that left 130 people dead.
A 15-year-old boy arrested in eastern Paris at the weekend was also brought before investigating magistrates Monday to be charged with conspiring to commit attacks.
The youth had written to contacts on Telegram -- the encrypted messaging app widely used by jihadists in France -- of his plans to carry out a knife attack, sources said.
France is on heightened alert after two grisly attacks in July -- one in the Riviera resort of Nice, where a truck driver crushed 86 people to death and another in Normandy, where two men slit the throat of an elderly priest. Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Sunday said the terror threat was at a "maximum" and that the authorities were foiling attacks and smashing jihadist networks "every day".
The three women in court were arrested last week as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to blow up a car found abandoned near Notre Dame cathedral on September 4.
French terror investigators grapple with Telegram app
They have been named as Ines Madani, 19, Sarah H., 23 and Amel S., 39. The two younger women were known to police for their links to Islamist radicals.
Sarah H.'s current boyfriend, 22-year-old Mohamed Lamine A., was also arrested and brought before judges to be charged on Monday.
Police alerted last week to the Peugeot 607 found in the middle of one of Paris's busiest tourist spots found five gas cylinders, three bottles of diesel and a half-smoked cigarette inside.
A fourth woman, Ornella G, who has been charged with terrorism over the find, told police she and Madani had tried to set the vehicle alight but fled when they saw a man they believed to be a police officer approach.
Investigators moved quickly to arrest her suspected accomplices, believing them to be on the cusp of staging an attack.
During their arrest in the southern Paris suburb of Essonne, Sarah H. stabbed a policeman, injuring him in the shoulder. Madani was shot in the leg after she also charged at an officer armed with a knife.
A police search of one of the women's homes found seven empty glass bottles and pieces of paper that "could look like paper fuses" but no explosives.
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Investigators have been trawling through the contacts of Rachid Kassim, a 29-year-old French IS member suspected of directing people over Telegram to carry out attacks.
Kassim has regularly appeared in IS propaganda videos shot in Syria or Iraq. He is said to have been in contact with Madani and the 15-year-old arrested in eastern Paris.
He also exchanged messages with the murderers of priest Jacques Hamel. Sarah H. had been in a relationship with Adel Kermiche, one of Hamel's killers.
Before that she had been seeing Larossi Abballa who stabbed a police couple to death at their home near Paris in June.
Both men were shot dead by police.