According to sources Gerard Collomb said that two attackers were arrested in January and one of them had been planning to hit a "major sporting facility". Sources have reported that the other person, a 33 year old man, had been targeting soldiers on anti-terrorism patrols. Meanwhile according to Le Parisien, the second suspect had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video.
Further the police had also searched his home in the region of Nimes and found bomb-making equipment. Meanwhile Mr. Collomb told Europe 1 radio that "Because the Islamic State is disappearing, people are seeking to stage attacks in western countries as a distraction from its defeat.
Previously France prevented 20 attacks last year according to official
figures, but others went ahead three people were killed on 20 April on the
Champs-Elysees in Paris and 1 October at Saint-Charles station in Marseille.
Furthermore since the attacks against the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and
the Hyper Cacher store, both in January 2015, terrorists have killed 241 people
in France.
