Paris: two teenagers arrested during attempted attack on Bank of America
Two 17-year-old youths were detained in the night of 28 March whilst attempting to place an improvised explosive device outside a Paris bank branch. The attack, which could have caused major damage, reveals a complex network linking petty crime to pro-Iranian terrorist networks.
Attempted terrorist attack foiled in Paris
According to Le Figaro, two 17-year-old teenagers were arrested on 28 March whilst attempting to carry out an attack on Bank of America, on rue La Boétie in the VIIIth arrondissement of Paris. At around 3.20 a.m., in heavy rain, the two suspects approached the entrance to the bank with a large shopping bag containing an improvised explosive device composed of a petrol canister fixed to a firecracker of "uncommon size". One of the two had taken out a lighter when the anti-crime brigade, positioned nearby, intervened.
The first suspect, the younger of the two, was quickly overpowered despite his resistance. His accomplice fled but was arrested the following day. The authorities seized the device, which analysis by the central laboratory of the police prefecture classified as "highly powerful". According to these experts, the explosion would have generated "a fireball several metres in diameter" and would have spread a major fire.
The investigation led by the anti-terrorism section and the DGSI (Directorate General of Interior Security) highlighted a broader operation. These two teenagers, described as young people "lacking direction, dabbling in petty crime", appear to be the executors of a criminal organisation beyond their understanding. Investigators suspect a chain of intermediaries facilitating the recruitment and coordination of these terrorist "small hands", an operation initially proposed via Snapchat for payment of a few hundred euros.
Source: Le Figaro