State prosecutor says bomb-making material was found in underground parking lot in Paris suburb
French police were questioning 12 men suspected of being part of an alleged Islamist terrorist cell after bomb-making material was discovered in an underground parking lot in suburban Paris.
The state prosecutor, François Molins, said officers had recovered items including potassium, sulphur, saltpeter and a pressure cooker as well as two weapons from a garage in the town of Torcy, east of Paris.
Authorities are extending the detention of the 12 suspects arrested at the weekend in cities across France beyond the normal limit of 96 hours because of the seriousness of the case.
"We can say that we are clearly and objectively facing an extremely dangerous terrorist cell," Molins said. He added that it was only the second time since 2006 that the law allowing the extension of custody in such circumstances had been invoked.
The weekend arrests, during which one suspect in Strasbourg was killed by police after he shot at them, were sparked by evidence gathered following a grenade attack on a kosher grocer's shop in Paris in September.
Police found weapons, cash and a list of Parisian Israeli associations during the raids.
It remains uncertain whether those suspected of directly carrying out the kosher grocery shop attack in Sarcelles, which wounded one person, have been apprehended.
Molins said at the time that all the arrested suspects were French and recent converts to Islam. Four of the men involved in the raid had written wills. One was carrying a loaded gun when arrested.