French counter-terrorism units have successfully dismantled a jihadist cell of three young men who were plotting a suicide bombing attack on public places, reportedly inspired by the 2015 Bataclan massacre.
The suspects were arrested on Wednesday and indicted on Sunday following an operation led by the Anti-Terrorist Sub-Directorate and the General Directorate of Internal Security, which was made possible after a concerned relative alerted authorities, fearing an imminent attack.
Le Parisien reported that the suspects, aged between 19 and 24, were originally from Lille and Dunkirk — French media has not offered any further description of the would-be attackers. They now face charges of “criminal terrorist association” and “possession of incendiary or explosive substances in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”
Investigators revealed that the trio had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and openly discussed their intent to carry out an attack designed to cause maximum casualties among “kuffars,” or non-believers.
The group’s apparent leader, 19-year-old Morad M., had published chilling posts on Snapchat, vowing to “drown in blood the unbelievers” and praising previous terrorist attacks in France, including the 2018 knife attack in Paris carried out by Khamzat Azimov.
Though not listed in France’s official register of radicalized individuals, Morad M. had previously come to the attention of intelligence services after issuing online threats against a young woman who had publicly criticized Islam.
During searches of their residences, authorities uncovered a partially assembled explosive vest rigged with firecrackers and ignition devices in what appeared to be a prototype for a suicide bomb. Investigators also found handwritten notes detailing ingredients for TATP, an explosive favored by jihadist groups, as well as a fuse mechanism ready for potential use.
No specific date is believed to have been set for the attack, but the suspects are understood to have identified multiple potential targets, including a youth center, restaurants, a nightclub, and a Jewish community center.
A letter of allegiance to IS and further incriminating materials were also seized during the investigation.
The three men were interrogated at the anti-terrorism headquarters in Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, before being formally indicted after appearing before a Parisian court. Two of the suspects have been placed in pre-trial detention, while the third — prosecuted solely for failing to report a planned crime — was placed under judicial supervision.
When approached by media, the lawyers for two of the suspects, Réda Ghilaci and Hugo Latrabe, declined to comment. However, Ghilaci later told RTL that his client “is not radicalized and does not espouse any jihadist ideology,” dismissing the charges as legally unfounded.
This case marks at least the second time this year that French authorities have thwarted a terror plot inspired by jihadist ideology. Just last month, a 17-year-old from Lure was arrested for planning a knife attack during Ramadan, targeting religious sites or foreign diplomatic missions. That teenager, too, had researched TATP explosives.
Le Parisien also reported on an intelligence note obtained from counter-terror sources, which warned how jihadist groups were increasingly turning to the use of homemade explosives like TATP due to its devastating potential and the abundance of instructional material readily available online.
“A small quantity of TATP, between 100 to 200 grams, is sufficient to design homemade detonators capable of triggering secondary explosives,” the report warned.
