French intelligence services have thwarted a terrorist cell that was planning attacks against the Jewish community, according to information reported Saturday by Le Parisien.
Made up of young adults, of various nationalities, connected by encrypted messaging and video games, the cell is notably suspected of having planned an attack against an Israeli embassy, in particular the one located near Brussels.
“This cell had a clear desire for international recognition and the objective of being dubbed by the Islamic State (IS), notes the DGSI in a report. (…) Wishing to kill civilians residing in the West, its hatred was directed towards the Jewish community."
In conversations found on messaging services, the group reported its action plan, consisting first of "shooting down and slaughtering" the police officers on duty in front of the Israeli embassy, then dropping a van full of explosives against the site, before executing the surviving civilians.
“We must not forget that our goal is to terrorize them, there must be as much blood as possible,” wrote a French teenager. “And our target is the Jews. Killing only police officers is not effective. They know they can die in their work. But the people who work there think they live in security.”
Four suspects were arrested in France and Belgium. Three were indicted in Paris by an anti-terrorism judge for “criminal terrorist association” on August 31 and September 8. They are a 15-year-old Frenchman and two 16-year-old Russians of Chechen and Ingush origins. The last, a 16-year-old Belgian, was indicted for terrorism in Brussels.