29-04-2024 05:41 AM Jerusalem Timing

French Minister Says Church Attack Foiled in Paris

French Minister Says Church Attack Foiled in Paris

A man allegedly planning an attack on "one or two churches" has been arrested in Paris, France’s interior minister said Wednesday, adding that he was also suspected of killing a woman near the French capital.

FranceA man allegedly planning an attack on "one or two churches" has been arrested in Paris, France's interior minister said Wednesday, adding that he was also suspected of killing a woman near the French capital.

The 24-year-old IT student, who was arrested on Sunday, was known to intelligence services for wanting to go to Syria to fight with 'jihadists', and owned "an arsenal of several war weapons, hand guns, ammunition, bullet-proof vests and computer hardware," Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters.

The arrest comes three months after extremists went on a three-day killing spree in and around Paris, leaving 17 people dead.

The suspect's alleged link to the murder was not clear.

The body of Aurelie Chatelain, a dancer, was discovered on Sunday morning in her car in Villejuif, a town close to Paris. She had been shot three times.

The 32-year-old mother had just come to the area from northern France to take a Pilates training course and had written of how happy she was to be there on her Facebook page on Saturday evening.

Around nine hours later, her body was discovered by passers-by as smoke poured out of the car from an overheating laptop.