Terror attack foiled in France: 4 arrested from raids across country

Law-keepers in France arrested four terror suspects, including a 16-year-old girl, in multiple raids across the country on Friday (February 10). The interior ministry confirmed in a statement that a terror attack had been foiled. 

During the raids, the authorities found a partially assembled improvised explosive device, the statement from Minister of Interior Bruno Le Roux said. While praising the security personnel for making the arrests, Roux said three among the arrested were directly suspected of preparing a violent attack against the country.

The arrests were made in Montpellier, Clapiers and Marseillan after a two-week investigation by the anti-terrorist division of the Paris Public Prosecutor with the police and the national police force. 

In Clapiers, the arrests were made from an apartment, where the suspects were believed to be plotting an attack. 

The arrests happened a week after a man was shot near the Louvre museum in Paris by a soldier. He had reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar". The 29-year-old Egyptian was a resident of the United Arab Emirates and had a knife with him. 

France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 Paris attacks. It has faced a number of terror attacks in the recent times, including the one in Nice in July last year. Other European countries like Germany and Belgium have also been on the receiving end of terrorist attacks perpetuated by the Islamic State terror outfit.