A 22-year-old Afghan man suspected of supporting the Islamic State group has been arrested in France after police found he had links to another man charged with plotting an election-day attack in the United States. The US suspect was planning to attack a football stadium or shopping centre. According to a source close to the case, the two men are brothers.
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French police have arrested a 22-year-old Afghan linked to a countryman in the US suspected of planning an election day attack there, anti-terrorism prosecutors said Saturday.
The man, who was arrested Tuesday in southwestern France, is suspected of being an Islamic State group supporter, said a statement from prosecutors.
He was linked to a 27-year-old Afghan arrested Wednesday in Oklahoma in the United States and charged with plotting a November election-day attack on a football stadium or a shopping centre.
One source close to the case said the two men were brothers, but prosecutors have not confirmed this.
The US-based suspect had been in contact via the Telegram app with a person identified by the FBI as an Islamic State group recruiter, say US officials.
They alerted their French colleagues, leading to the arrest of three people aged 20 to 31 in southwestern France, a judicial source close to the French case said.
While the main suspect remains in detention, the other two have been released, prosecutors said.
(AFP)
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