FRANCE-ATTACK/ARREST Two men arrested in connection with foiled French church attack

Record ID: 150396

  • Title: FRANCE-ATTACK/ARREST Two men arrested in connection with foiled French church attack
  • Date: 7th June 2015
  • Summary: VILLEJUIF, FRANCE (FILE - APRIL 22, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SAINT-CYR AND SAINTE JULIETTE CHURCH, WHO IS SUSPECTED TO HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY GHLAM
  • Embargoed: 22nd June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7FCGYJNU5BKY6UQ9LEH0081IW
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Two men were arrested on Sunday morning (June 7) in connection with the investigation into a foiled attack in Villejuif, near Paris, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, said.
    The two men were arrested by officers of the Anti-Terrorism Sub-Directorate of the Judicial Police early in the morning and placed in custody.
    "This morning at dawn in Yvelines, police arrested two people aged 35 and 39 who have been placed in custody. These arrests happened on the request of the investigating magistrates as part of the inquiry opened against Sid Ahmed Ghlam following the murder of Aurelie Chatelain and the foiled attack in Villejuif on April 19. Raids are still under way at the houses of individuals arrested this morning," Cazeneuve told journalists.
    Investigators are seeking to identify accomplices of the 24-year old electronics student, Sid Ahmed Ghlam, who is suspected of planning an attack against at least one church in Villejuif and of the murder of a 32-year-old woman, Aurelie Chatelain.
    Ghlam was arrested in April after he apparently shot himself by accident and called an ambulance.
    Cazeneuve said at the time that the man had previously come to the attention of the French authorities as possibly wanting to go to Syria. Police had made checks on him in 2014 and 2015 without finding anything that would warrant further investigation.
    "Every day, we arrest people, we prevent people from leaving for Syria; we arrest people who represent a true danger for the French people's security on our soil. Every day, without any rest or break, we strike a blow at terrorism," he said.
    France raised its surveillance of potential suspects and deployed troops to patrol sensitive sites after Islamist militants killed 17 people in January in attacks on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly and a Jewish food store.
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