Female Suicide Bomber Plot To Attack Central Paris Thwarted

The London Evening Standard reports that a "female suicide bomber plotted to blow herself up in Paris last week, French spy agencies have revealed. Intelligence services uncovered and thwarted the threat which was planned for a 'busy part of Paris' on Thursday, RTL radio said. French domestic intelligence chief Bernard Squarcini warned at the weekend that France's burka ban had 'seriously increased' the risk of a major terrorist attack. Mr Squarcini said 'all the red lights were flashing' over the likelihood that Islamist extremists would bomb French cities. Mr Squarcini warned: 'France's role in Afghanistan, its foreign policy and the debate over the law banning the burka have all increased the risk.'"

The alert over the female suicide bomber was revealed to RTL radio on Monday. The station said: “The intelligence service learned last Wednesday night that a female suicide bomber was plotting to commit a terrorist act in a busy part of Paris on Thursday. The intelligence came from agents in Africa and was immediately transmitted to the offices of the president and prime minister. From six in the morning on Thursday the terror alert status was raised and mobile anti-terrorist units began searching for the suspect.” Tweet