(Bloomberg) -- French anti-terrorism authorities are investigating a foiled bombing near the Bank of America Corp. headquarters in Paris that they said appeared to be linked to the Middle East conflict.
The attempted attack in the early hours of Saturday, in which suspects attempted to detonate a homemade explosive device, was similar to recent events in neighboring European countries, including the Netherlands and Norway, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on BFM TV.
Like in those cases, the bomb in Paris was placed by minors or young men who were paid to carry out the plan, Nunez said.
“There’s clearly a concerted effort,” Nunez said.
A Jewish school in Amsterdam was hit by an explosion earlier this month, shortly after an explosive device was set off at a synagogue in Rotterdam. In Norway, three brothers and their mother were arrested in connection with a blast outside the US Embassy in Oslo.
Paris police saw two individuals place the bomb in front of the bank on the Rue de la Boétie, in Paris’ eighth arrondissement, between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., Nunez said. One was preparing to ignite it while another filmed.
One of the suspects is in custody and police are searching for the second, Nunez added.
The detained suspect told authorities that he had been contacted over Snapchat and paid €600 ($690) for the task, Le Parisien reported.
A spokeswoman for Bank of America said the company was “aware of the situation” and communicating with authorities.
French authorities have stepped up security measures around Jewish and US-affiliated sites since the start of the Mideast conflict, Nunez said. Paris judicial police and the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, are also involved in the probe.
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