France foils terror attack on Toulon naval base

From France 24 and Reuters

Authorities in France have arrested a man with links to an Islamic State group jihadist in Syria over a plot to attack military personnel at a major naval base, police and judicial sources said on Tuesday.

Having been placed under surveillance for a year due to his radicalisation and support of jihadist doctrine, this individual attempted to acquire the tools to act,” Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement. 

It added that the 25-year-old was arrested on October 29. He has since been imprisoned and charged under terrorism offences.

A judicial source told Reuters the man had received a knife and two balaclavas.

The source said the man after being arrested indicated he had initially wanted to go to Syria to wage jihad (holy war), but had decided to carry out an attack on French soil because his passport had been confiscated. .

During questioning he admitted he had been in contact with a Frenchman currently in Syria with the Islamic State (IS) group who had encouraged him to act, a source close to the case said. He eventually admitted plotting to attack sailors at the Mediterranean base of Toulon, home to 70 percent of the French fleet and 20,000 military and civilian personnel,