Police in the South of France have arrested four women and a girl as part of an anti-terrorist investigation into a suspected attack on the city of Montpellier
PARIS – Police in the South of France have arrested four women and a girl as part of an anti-terrorist investigation into a suspected attack on the city of Montpellier.
A police officer in the Herault region confirmed the overnight arrests in the city of Béziers and said on Sunday that DGSI’s domestic intelligence agency and the national counter-terrorism prosecutor are handling the investigation.
Mayor Robert Menard said the investigators targeted an 18-year-old woman who lives in a housing project in Béziers and is suspected of planning an attack on nearby Montpellier. The 18-year-old’s mother and three sisters were also arrested, including a minor, he said.
The 18-year-old had “poached” neighbors about watching Islamic State videos, Menard told The Associated Press, although he said he did not know if she or her family were on the authorities’ radar for radicalism.
Menard, who had been notified of the operation by police, said he spoke with rattling neighbors on the spot.
‘They are shocked. They are concerned that it paints a bad picture of this neighborhood and the Muslim community here, ”he said.