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3 in France Accused of Plotting a Beheading at a Naval Base 3 in France Accused of Plotting a Beheading at a Naval Base
(about 7 hours later)
PARIS — The Paris prosecutor’s office announced on Friday that it had opened a formal investigation into three young Frenchmen it said had been plotting an attack after viewing Islamic State videos on the web and contacting a fighter in Syria. PARIS — As countries across Europe attempt to stop disaffected citizens and residents from leaving to fight with Islamist extremists in the Middle East, they are facing a new problem: Some of those people are instead striking at home.
The police interrupted the attack on Monday, picking up four men, one of whom was released, officials said. The others were placed in preliminary detention to await trial after having confessed to plotting the attack, the authorities said. The Paris prosecutor’s office announced on Friday that it had opened a formal investigation into three young Frenchmen it said had been plotting an attack after viewing Islamic State videos online and contacting a fighter in Syria. All three had first planned to join the battle in Syria, but were prevented from going and then came up with the idea of staging an attack in France, the office said.
Two of the suspects said that the plan had been to behead a military officer at a naval base near Port-Vendres, just a few miles from the Spanish border, according to the prosecutor’s office, and that the attack was to take place at the end of the year or early in 2016. That would be the same time of year as the shootings at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, but the French legal authorities said they did not think the attack was intended to take place on the anniversary. The police on Monday interrupted that alleged attack, picking up four men, one of whom was later released. The others were placed in preliminary detention to await trial after having confessed to plotting the attack, the office said.
Two of them said that the plan had been to behead a military officer at a naval base near Port-Vendres, just a few miles from the Spanish border, according to the prosecutor’s office, and that the attack was to take place at the end of the year or early in 2016. While the timing would have been close to the anniversary of the shootings at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the French legal authorities said it had not been intended to coincide with it.
None of the three men had been in prison before, the office of the prosecutor, François Molins, said. All had completed their baccalaureate degrees and had been “strongly radicalized, in particular by viewing I.S. videos,” the prosecutor's office said.None of the three men had been in prison before, the office of the prosecutor, François Molins, said. All had completed their baccalaureate degrees and had been “strongly radicalized, in particular by viewing I.S. videos,” the prosecutor's office said.
The three accused men were identified as Ismael K., 17, Antoine F., 19, and Djebril A., 23, who lived in different parts of France and had made contact with each other through social networks. They planned to jointly travel to Syria to fight for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, the authorities said. The three were identified as Ismael K., 17, Antoine F., 19, and Djebril A., 23, who lived in different parts of France and had connected through social networks. They planned to travel together to Syria to fight for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, the authorities said.
The mother of Ismael K., alarmed that her son appeared to be becoming increasingly radical, alerted the authorities, and they put him on a list of people forbidden to leave France, the prosecutor’s office said. Although it was probably still possible for them to flee France for Syria because borders in European countries are open, they decided to turn their attention to an attack within France, the authorities said. The mother of the youngest, alarmed that her son appeared to be becoming increasingly radical, alerted the authorities, and they put him on a list of people forbidden to leave France, the prosecutor’s office said.
Ismael K. was in contact with “an individual actually in Syria in the ranks of I.S.,” and in his confession to French investigators, he said the contact had instructed him to “hit France,” the prosecutor’s office said. The mother was making use of a provision in a law enacted last year that created a law enforcement hotline to call if a relative or loved one appeared to be radicalized.
As the three men began to seek suitable targets, Djebril A., who had served in the navy, suggested the training center for French commandos, the prosecutor’s office said. The office also said he had recommended staging the attack near the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016, when the base would be less guarded. The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said this week that the ministry had received more than 2,500 alerts on the hotline.
Mr. Cazeneuve also said that since November, the authorities had thwarted efforts by 118 people to leave for Syria and Iraq.
However, it is unclear how many may have slipped through. France is among the 26 signers of the Schengen agreement, which allows goods and people to move freely throughout most of Continental Europe.
In the same period, France stopped 29 people from returning who were part of jihadist networks, Mr. Cazeneuve said.
Ismael K. was in contact with “an individual actually in Syria in the ranks of I.S.,” and in his confession to French investigators, he said that when it had become clear he could not easily leave France, the contact instructed him to “hit France,” the prosecutor’s office said.
As the three men began to seek suitable targets, Djebril A., who had served in the navy, suggested the training center for French commandos, the prosecutor’s office said. The office also said he had recommended staging the attack near the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016, when the base would be less guarded because of year-end holidays.
Djebril A. joined the military in June 2013 and served at the base, but he appeared to have encountered difficulties “adapting to military life,” according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office. He was discharged in January 2015, and there was no suggestion at the time that he showed extremist tendencies.Djebril A. joined the military in June 2013 and served at the base, but he appeared to have encountered difficulties “adapting to military life,” according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office. He was discharged in January 2015, and there was no suggestion at the time that he showed extremist tendencies.
Among the evidence found by the police in Djebril A.’s belongings at his home were gloves of the kind used by the jihadists, and two video cameras, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The statement also said Antoine F. had met Djebril A. in January, when they began planning the attack.
This interception is only the most recent of several that the security services said they had carried out since the January assault on Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery. Among the most significant was an April interception and detention of Sid Ahmed Ghlam, a 24-year-old Algerian who was studying in France and was accused of plotting to attack a church in the Paris suburbs.