French Police Extend Detention for Terrorist Suspects

Posted October 10th, 2012 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
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French police have extended by 24 hours the detention of a group of terrorist suspects, after finding bomb-making materials in an enclosed parking lot in a Paris suburb.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters Wednesday that the detention of 12 suspected radical Islamists was extended after what he called “particularly significant developments” in the investigation.

Earlier Wednesday, Molins had said overnight raids in the Paris suburb of Torcy yielded potassium nitrate, sulfur, saltpeter, pressure cookers and headlight bulbs — all products and instruments that are useful for the manufacture of what are called improved explosive devices.

He says police discovered the materials, in addition to two weapons, in an enclosed parking lot after a tip from one of the suspects in detention.

The suspects were arrested Saturday in a series of raids in French cities, on suspicion of involvement in a grenade attack on a Jewish grocery store in September. Police say they also found a list of Jewish institutions during a search of one of the suspects' homes.