Arrested suspects planned to attack Paris on Dec. 1

PARIS

Five terror suspects arrested over the weekend in France had allegedly received orders to attack Paris on Dec. 1 from a Daesh militant based in either Iraq or Syria, a public prosecutor said Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in the French capital, Paris Chief Prosecutor Francois Molins said the four French and Moroccan suspects – arrested in the French cities of Strasbourg and Marseille – had received their orders from a Daesh member based in Iraq or Syria.

"A Strasbourg [based] commando team and also a man arrested in Marseille were given instructions to acquire arms. The instructions were given by a commander from the Iraqi-Syrian region via encrypted apps," Molins said.

“The Strasbourg group was planning to move in, act and strike in the Paris area on Dec. 1st, but the target had not been decided yet,” he said.

"At this stage, it is not possible to determine the precise targets among all the sites identified by the group. Evidence found on mobile phones showed numerous places had been researched," he added.

The four French nationals, aged 35 to 37 years and unknown to intelligence services, had been arrested in Strasbourg city. Two of them are suspected of having stayed in Syria sometime in 2015.

The fifth suspect – arrested in Marseille – is said to be a 46-year-old Moroccan who was known by intelligence services for “radicalization” in Portugal where he originally resided.

The suspects will be presented before a judge on Friday where they are expected to be charged for terrorism offences.