French Muslim teenager arrested on terror charges 'was told to "hit France" by ISIS recruiter after his mother reported him to authorities and blocked him going to Syria'
A teenager
among three terror suspects arrested on in France this week had been in
contact with an ISIS recruiter who told him to 'hit France', according
to the country's prosecutor.
Ismael
K, 17, had been talking with the extremist fighter online and was urged
to flee to the Middle East until his mother stopped him, at which point
he was ordered to attack his home country.
The
alleged plot was revealed after Ismael was arrested on Wednesday along
with former marine Djebril A, 23, and alleged accomplice Antoine F, 19.
According
to officials, the trio had plotted to attack military base Fort Bear, in
southern France, where Djebril had once worked.
Once
inside they planned to kill the officers on the base before capturing
and beheading the commander on film, echoing the sick ISIS beheading
videos produced in Syria, it is alleged.
Communicating
using an encrypted online messaging service, the three men allegedly
said that after their attack they would attempt to flee to Syria.
Paris
prosecutor Francois Molins said the attack was due to take place in
December this year or January next year, when Djebril said surveillance
of the base would be lower than usual.
The
group came into contact with each other via social networks and formed a
plan to go to Syria to wage jihad alongside other IS extremists.
However, Ismael's mother became concerned about his radical views and contacted the authorities.
He
was subsequently interviewed by counter-terrorism officials and was
aware he was under surveillance so was forced to abandon his original
plans.
It was after that interview that the ISIS Jihadi delivered his chilling command.
Moulins
said: 'There was in particular an exchange between Ismael K. and an
individual currently fighting with IS in Syria who - given it was
impossible for him to leave France - told him to "hit on the ground in
France".'
Djebril then suggested the target, having worked on the base during his naval career.
He
joined the service in June 2013 as a signalman but suffered health
problems and was eventually discharged in January 2015, officials said.
It
is believed the group planned to arm themselves with handguns for the
attack but no weapons were found when searching their homes.
However,
police did say they had seized 'paramilitary' equipment - including
protective gloves used by jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
The three men are expected to be interviewed by a judge on Friday ahead of possible charges.
Molins added: 'Djebril A., Antoine F. and Ismael K. have several things in common - as well as their young age.'
'They
have never been convicted, had been educated to baccalaureate level
(equivalent to A-levels) and were strongly radicalised, in particular
because they watched IS videos.'
France
remains on high alert more than six months after jihadist attacks in
January that claimed 17 lives and started with shootings at satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo.
'We
are facing a terrorist threat that we have never seen before - an
external threat and an internal threat,' Prime Minister Manuel Valls
said on Thursday.
Although
the foiled assault was planned around the first anniversary of the
Charlie Hebdo attacks, none of the three alleged plotters indicated that
the date was chosen deliberately for this reason.
The
government says there are 1,850 French citizens or people living in
France who are 'implicated' in jihadist networks, with around 500 in
Syria or Iraq.
France,
which is home to Europe's largest Muslim population, has beefed up
security, posting 30,000 police officers and soldiers outside 5,000
sensitive sites such as schools and religious sites.
Authorities
have also set up a hotline for friends or family concerned that someone
could be tempted to wage jihad - an effort that has yielded 2,500
leads.
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