France says possible major terror attack foiled

21 November 2016, 2:40 pm

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French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says police may have foiled a large-scale terror attack in a series of arrest raids over the last two days.

The arrests of the alleged plotters from France, Morocco and Afghanistan “enabled us to prevent a long-planned terror attack on our soil,” Cazeneuve tells a televised news conference.

He says the investigation would show whether “the foiled attack was a coordinated attack aiming to target several sites simultaneously on our soil.”

French Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve gives a press conference on November 21, 2016 in Paris. (AFP / BERTRAND GUAY) — French Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve gives a press conference on November 21, 2016, in Paris. (AFP / BERTRAND GUAY)

Police raids were carried out overnight Saturday to Sunday in the eastern city of Strasbourg and Marseille in the south following an eight-month investigation by security services.

“Credible information made these arrests necessary,” one security source tells AFP.

— AFP