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| France Detains 3 Men in Alleged Plot to Attack Military Base | France Detains 3 Men in Alleged Plot to Attack Military Base |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| PARIS — France has foiled a terrorist plot and detained three men who are accused of plotting to enter a military base, stage an attack there and film it, according to the Interior Ministry. | |
| It was unclear how far the alleged plot had advanced or which base was the intended target. The eldest suspect, 23, had served in the French military, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday. The other two are under 20. | It was unclear how far the alleged plot had advanced or which base was the intended target. The eldest suspect, 23, had served in the French military, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday. The other two are under 20. |
| A fourth person, a 16-year-old, was also detained but later released for lack of evidence, according to judicial sources. The four were picked up in different parts of France on Monday at dawn, Mr. Cazeneuve said. | A fourth person, a 16-year-old, was also detained but later released for lack of evidence, according to judicial sources. The four were picked up in different parts of France on Monday at dawn, Mr. Cazeneuve said. |
| The Interior Ministry appeared to have accelerated its timetable for announcing the suspects’ capture because President François Hollande mentioned the case to reporters on Tuesday in the south of France. Mr. Hollande said only that an attack had been intercepted earlier in the week and that Mr. Cazeneuve would speak about it on Wednesday. | |
| Mr. Cazeneuve said there were 1,850 French citizens or residents who were believed to be involved in extremist Muslim networks, with about 500 currently in Syria or Iraq. | Mr. Cazeneuve said there were 1,850 French citizens or residents who were believed to be involved in extremist Muslim networks, with about 500 currently in Syria or Iraq. |
| In France, there is often an interval of as much as several days between a police roundup of suspects in terrorism cases and any public statements, in order to give the security forces time to exploit any information they find with the suspects or learn from questioning them. | In France, there is often an interval of as much as several days between a police roundup of suspects in terrorism cases and any public statements, in order to give the security forces time to exploit any information they find with the suspects or learn from questioning them. |
| Contributing to the most recent French worries about potential attacks was a huge fire that broke out at a petrochemical site about 18 miles from Marseille overnight Monday to Tuesday. Two explosions set off the blaze, according to the local prosecutor. That incident comes just a little more than a week after ammunition, explosives and fuses that could be used in making bombs were found stolen from a military base also near Marseille. | Contributing to the most recent French worries about potential attacks was a huge fire that broke out at a petrochemical site about 18 miles from Marseille overnight Monday to Tuesday. Two explosions set off the blaze, according to the local prosecutor. That incident comes just a little more than a week after ammunition, explosives and fuses that could be used in making bombs were found stolen from a military base also near Marseille. |
| So far, no connection has been found between the three suspects and the explosion, the news agencies quoted Mr. Cazeneuve as saying. | So far, no connection has been found between the three suspects and the explosion, the news agencies quoted Mr. Cazeneuve as saying. |
| Whether the alleged plot will turn out to be one of the more important terrorism cases was not yet clear on Thursday. France has been on high alert since the attacks in January on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store. | Whether the alleged plot will turn out to be one of the more important terrorism cases was not yet clear on Thursday. France has been on high alert since the attacks in January on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store. |