They had chosen their – highly symbolic – target to take revenge on a historic event. Three young adults suspected of plotting a jihadist attack on various targets, in particular the town hall of Poitiers, were arrested on Wednesday by police officers from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) in several departments, including Loire-Atlantique and Gard.
According to our information, confirmed by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), the three radicalised men, aged 19 and 20, were charged on Saturday evening, after four days in police custody, with ‘criminal terrorist association’, ‘possession and transport of incendiary or explosive substances or products in connection with a terrorist project’ and ‘unauthorised manufacture of explosive devices or explosives in connection with a terrorist attack’. All were remanded in custody.
These three fanatics of jihadist organisations are all students, one of them is studying chemistry, which could have been useful to them. They came to the attention of DGSI investigators through disturbing conversations on encrypted networks. They discussed in particular their intention to commit a violent attack against several targets labelled as infidels and in particular the town hall of Poitiers. According to their texts, this target was envisaged because of the symbolism of the Battle of Poitiers, in which Charles Martel’s troops were victorious against the Arab-Berber forces in 732. The three young men had also spoken of attacking the DGSI headquarters or going to Syria.
The investigation, which is now being carried out on the basis of a request for mutual legal assistance from counter-terrorism judges, must now clarify how far their jihadist plots have progressed. Worryingly, however, investigators found during the house searches that the suspects had prepared the manufacture of homemade TATP-type explosives, an unstable explosive substance favoured by terrorist groups such as Daech. They had even practised handling explosives and were due to receive new sensitive components at the time of their arrest, apparently to build a bomb for D-Day. Their affiliation to a jihadist group is unclear, as the suspects mention both the Islamic State and HTS, the extremist Syrian rebel group once allied with Al-Qaeda.
This counter-terrorism operation confirms that the jihadist threat in France remains at a diffuse level and that the actors of the endogenous movement, i.e. people who are present on French territory, have become significantly younger. Minors and young adults now make up the majority of arrests in cases of Sunni jihadism.
Drop them back into the desert with the other sand rats and let them enjoy the great social benefits Islam ☪️ has to offer if they don’t want OUR society! Time for a new Martel- Macron is NO Martel!