Frenchwoman charged over suspected Notre Dame car bomb

By Michael Sercan Daventry

LONDON

French prosecutors have charged a woman in connection with a suspected car bomb found near Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, local media reported Sunday.

Fingerprints belonging to the woman, identified as 29-year-old Ornella G., were found in the Peugeot car abandoned on Sept 4. close to the tourist attraction.

The car contained five gas cylinders and three bottles of diesel fuel, broadcaster France 24 said.

Ornella G. told prosecutors she was planning to set fire to the vehicle with an associate, 19-year-old Ines Madani, but ran away when they spotted a man they thought was a plain-clothes police officer.

The suspect was remanded in custody on charges of attempted murder and terrorist association. She was previously known to the authorities for making plans to join Daesh in Syria.

Ines Madani and two other women -- named as Amel S., 39, and 23-year-old Sarah H. -- were arrested Thursday before they could carry out an attack on a rail station in Paris, prosecutors said.

The trio have not yet been charged.

Officials in France have been on high alert since a series of deadly attacks by Daesh in the country, including last November’s Paris attacks that left 130 people dead.