A teenage migrant from Senegal has reportedly been arrested for allegedly attempting to set off a homemade bomb outside of a Bank of America building in central Paris.
At around 3:30 am in the early hours of Saturday morning, police officers from the anti-crime brigade (BAC) force thwarted an apparent terror attack attempt on La Boétie in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.
According to information obtained by Le Figaro, a hooded figure stood outside the Bank of America branch, attempting to use a lighter to set fire to a mortar-style firecracker fuse attached to a five-litre container holding an unidentified liquid, which is believed to have been a hydrocarbon.
Fortunately, before the fire could catch, the would-be terrorist was foiled by BAC officers.
The French paper of record further reported that the 17-year-old suspect was born in the West African nation of Senegal before migrating to France. He is said to currently reside in the notorious multicultural Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, which was named in a recent report as containing the most dangerous “no-go zone” in all of Europe.
The suspect is said to have told police that he did not work alone, and that he and an accomplice (who fled the scene) had in fact been recruited over the Snapchat messaging app with the promise of 600 euros. A third person is also said to have driven the pair to the site of the attack.
Members of the anti-terrorist section of the Criminal Brigade are reported to be leading the investigation.
Commenting on the attempted attack, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunẽz said on Saturday: “Bravo for the swift intervention of a prefecture of police crew that made it possible to thwart a violent action of a terrorist nature last night in Paris
“Vigilance remains more than ever at a high level. I congratulate all the security and intelligence forces fully mobilised under my authority in the international context that we know.”
It comes amid heightened concern accross Europe of potential terror attacks, particularly targeting Jewish and American institutions throughout the continent in revenge attacks over the conflict in Iran.
Multiple Jewish sites have been attacked in recent weeks, including in Belgium, London, and the Netherlands. A group calling itself the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI/Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right) have claimed responsibility, and cited the military operation in Iran as their motivating factor.
Earlier this month, three brothers from Iraq were arrested by Norwegian police in connection with an explosion set off outside the American Embassy in Oslo in a suspected reprisal over Iran.
