A PARCEL bomb sent from Yemen by suspected Islamist militants last week was defused just 17 minutes before it was due to explode, France’s interior minister said yesterday.
Referring to the two US-bound bombs which were intercepted on cargo planes in Dubai and Britain last week, Brice Hortefeux said: “I can tell you, for example, that one of these packages was disarmed 17 minutes before the planned explosion.” Mr Hortefeux, who made the remark in a television interview about the terrorist threat to France, did not elaborate or reveal the source of his information.
The cargo aircraft bombs were addressed to synagogues in Chicago, and one had been carried on two passenger flights before being intercepted by police. They are believed to have been prepared by a Yemen-based al-Qaeda affiliate, and a number of western countries have suspended air freight from Yemen and tightened security of air cargo.
France intensified its airline security procedures this week in light of the cargo plane parcels, an audio threat against the country from Osama bin Laden and a series of letter bombs sent from Greece to European countries.
In Athens yesterday, Greek police detonated a parcel bomb disguised as a book addressed to the French embassy. It was sent on Monday, when the first wave of devices was sent to foreign governments and embassies by what Greek foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas described as “extreme left, anarchist groups”.
Small bombs exploded at the Swiss and Russian embassies in Athens on Tuesday, a parcel with explosives was intercepted at the German chancellor’s office and another package addressed to Italy’s prime minister caught fire when it was checked. Police also intercepted a booby-trapped parcel addressed to French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday and found parcel bombs at the Chilean and Bulgarian embassies.
Mr Hortefeux said it was decided at a meeting between Mr Sarkozy and key ministers to tighten screening of air passengers en route to France in light of “corroborating information” received from different sources on the threat to the country. France has already suspended air freight from Yemen.
The authorities confirmed yesterday that two men were arrested near Paris on suspicion of preparing an attack on the country. One of the men had reportedly spent time on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and was preparing to depart for the Middle East.
“These are serious counts. They are being questioned at this moment,” Mr Hortefeux said. “They were arrested for (suspicion of) links to a criminal enterprise with a view to preparing a terrorist act.” He said 85 arrests of a similar kind had been made since the start of the year.
France has been on high alert for several months. Seven people, including five French citizens, were kidnapped by a north African Islamist group in September and Osama bin Laden said in a message aired on Al Jazeera television on October 27th that the kidnappings in Niger had been prompted by France’s unjust treatment of Muslims.
“There has undoubtedly been a build-up of information that has prompted us to be particularly vigilant,” Mr Hortefeux added.