9 Held in France Planned to Attack, Official Says
New York Times
By CRAIG S. SMITH and HÉLÉNE FOUQUET
Published: September 28, 2005
PARIS, Sept. 27 - Nine Islamic militants arrested outside Paris on Monday were plotting a terrorist attack on the Paris subway system, an airport or France's intelligence headquarters, an intelligence official said Tuesday, raising fears that the capital could face bombings similar to those that killed more than 50 people in London in July.
"The moment that there is a verbal threat, we have to act," the intelligence official said, adding that the nine suspects had been under surveillance since the beginning of the year. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official's organization requires it.
France has stepped up surveillance of its subway system in the wake of the London attacks and updated its emergency response plans to take into account multiple bombings.
On Monday, the Interior Ministry warned that France was facing a "high level threat" of attack.
The nine suspects were taken into custody during raids on the western outskirts of Paris and in the town of Évreux, 55 miles northwest of the capital.
They are suspected of being part of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, an Algerian terrorist group with links to Al Qaeda that is fighting to install an Islamic government in Algeria. No weapons, explosives or chemicals were reported found.
The official said the arrests were based on information that Algerian authorities had gathered from a man who was arrested this month in Algiers. The newspaper Le Parisien reported that the man's wife was among those arrested.
The official said the group was considering attacks on the Paris Métro, one of the city's airports, or the headquarters of the Directorate for Territorial Surveillance in the southwestern part of the city. The newspaper Le Figaro reported that the Algerians had told French authorities that the group "knew how to use explosives."
They included a man named Safe Bourada who was arrested in 1995 and subsequently convicted on charges related to a series of bombs in the Métro that killed eight people that year. He was released in February 2003 and had been under surveillance since then.
"He was at the core of the cell," the official said. "We knew perfectly well that he would not abandon his radical Islamic views."
The official said that earlier this month, the Salafist Group had issued a call for action against France, which it described as "our first enemy." The group posted an audio message in Arabic on a Web site that said, "The only way to discipline France is jihad, martyrdom and Islam," according to the official. The official said the recording was made by the group's leader, Abu Mossab Abdelwadoud, also known as Abdelmalek Droukdal.
By CRAIG S. SMITH and HÉLÉNE FOUQUET
Published: September 28, 2005
PARIS, Sept. 27 - Nine Islamic militants arrested outside Paris on Monday were plotting a terrorist attack on the Paris subway system, an airport or France's intelligence headquarters, an intelligence official said Tuesday, raising fears that the capital could face bombings similar to those that killed more than 50 people in London in July.
"The moment that there is a verbal threat, we have to act," the intelligence official said, adding that the nine suspects had been under surveillance since the beginning of the year. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official's organization requires it.
France has stepped up surveillance of its subway system in the wake of the London attacks and updated its emergency response plans to take into account multiple bombings.
On Monday, the Interior Ministry warned that France was facing a "high level threat" of attack.
The nine suspects were taken into custody during raids on the western outskirts of Paris and in the town of Évreux, 55 miles northwest of the capital.
They are suspected of being part of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, an Algerian terrorist group with links to Al Qaeda that is fighting to install an Islamic government in Algeria. No weapons, explosives or chemicals were reported found.
The official said the arrests were based on information that Algerian authorities had gathered from a man who was arrested this month in Algiers. The newspaper Le Parisien reported that the man's wife was among those arrested.
The official said the group was considering attacks on the Paris Métro, one of the city's airports, or the headquarters of the Directorate for Territorial Surveillance in the southwestern part of the city. The newspaper Le Figaro reported that the Algerians had told French authorities that the group "knew how to use explosives."
They included a man named Safe Bourada who was arrested in 1995 and subsequently convicted on charges related to a series of bombs in the Métro that killed eight people that year. He was released in February 2003 and had been under surveillance since then.
"He was at the core of the cell," the official said. "We knew perfectly well that he would not abandon his radical Islamic views."
The official said that earlier this month, the Salafist Group had issued a call for action against France, which it described as "our first enemy." The group posted an audio message in Arabic on a Web site that said, "The only way to discipline France is jihad, martyrdom and Islam," according to the official. The official said the recording was made by the group's leader, Abu Mossab Abdelwadoud, also known as Abdelmalek Droukdal.
posted by Marko at 9/28/2005 10:45:00 AM
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