On Monday, French authorities announced they had thwarted another planned terrorist attack, as reported by Reuters. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said their anti-terrorism police had arrested seven people who were reportedly planning a large-scale assault for several months.
The latest batch of detainees included seven people of “French, Moroccan, and Afghan origin,” and were arrested in numerous places, as reported by Reuters. Four were arrested in Strasbourg, while two were apprehended in the port city of Marseille. Cazeneuve, who did not reveal the intended terrorist target, added that while French authorities have made great strides in countering these attacks, there’s always a threat of danger in the air:
“Yesterday, a terrorist act on our soil that was being prepared for a long time was foiled thanks to the work of the DGSI. The scale of the terrorist threat is enormous and it is not possible to ensure zero risks despite everything we are doing.”
The latest thwarted attack is the second one the country had stopped this year, with the other coming in June. Since the multi-site terrorist attacks last November, the French government has been fortifying its attempts to stop attacks like these from happening again. Reuters reported that since January 2015, more than 230 people have been killed in attacks on French soil. The Associated Press reported the country has detained 418 people this year, including the seven that were apprehended on Sunday.
(Via Reuters & The Associated Press)