French prosecutors charge teens for planning terror attack on Jewish targets

PARIS — French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a terrorist attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source tells AFP.

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning terror attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” says the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source says.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” says the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making antisemetic insults.