Several people” are being held in Paris after police found an unmarked car containing gas cylinders next to Notre Dame cathedral, according to French reports, sparking fears of a fresh terrorist plot.
An anti-terror investigation has been launched following the discovery of the suspicious vehicle containing seven gas cylinders on Sunday yards from the cathedral, one of Paris’ most visited landmarks where thousands of tourists congregate every day.
The car, a Peugeot 607 with no number plates, contained no explosives or detonators, according to French reports. “They were not linked to any kind of fuse,” one source close to the investigation told l’Express.
According to BFM TV, one empty canister was found in the back of the car and six full ones in the boot. The type of gas they contained was not specified.
The car had been abandoned on quai de Montebello, just yards from Notre Dame, located on Paris’ île de la cité by the river Seine.
Initial reports said that a couple, a man aged 34 and a woman aged 29, were arrested and are being questioned by French domestic intelligence agents.
But Le Parisien, the capital’s daily reported that six people are now being held.
Paris has been high terror alert since the November 13 attacks in which 130 people were killed.
This week, François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, warned that while Isil – which claimed responsibility for the attacks – was losing ground in Syria and Iraq, the threat of terror strikes in Western Europe was ironically “reinforced” as the jihadist group sought to lash out .
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:www.telegraph.co.uk)
