(Bloomberg) -- French authorities have charged and jailed an adult and three teens aged 16 to 17 over a foiled bombing attempt near the Bank of America Corp. office in Paris that was seen as possible retaliation for the war with Iran.
The four individuals are being held in pre-trial detention, a Justice Ministry official said late Wednesday. All of the suspects have denied any terrorist intent, according to France’s anti-terrorism prosecutors, the PNAT.
The move comes after the PNAT sought charges for criminal terrorist conspiracy, manufacture of an explosive or incendiary device and attempted destruction in connection with a terrorist enterprise over the attempt. The homemade bomb was made up of a five-liter jerrycan filled to two-thirds with petrol, then taped to a large firework.
French authorities are examining possible links with a pro-Iranian propaganda video released last week by a group known as HAYI, which called for retaliation targeting interests of the Jewish community in Europe and specifically mentioned Bank of America’s French headquarters. Officials said they’re coordinating with other European law enforcement agencies, including in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
A Jewish school in Amsterdam and a synagogue in Liege, Belgium, were both hit by an explosion last month that French authorities linked to the same group. An explosive device was also 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.
Police interviews and an analysis of the Paris suspects’ phones and CCTV footage showed that the three minors had been recruited by the adult on the night of March 26-27 to place an incendiary device at the Bank of America premises in Paris’ eighth arrondissement, ignite it and film the scene in return for a sum of between €500 ($576.25) and €1,000, the PNAT previously said.
After a failed attempt by the three minors to place the device, two of them tried again the following night, on March 28. That’s when, at about 3:20 am, police officers on surveillance duty outside the Bank of America headquarters intervened, detaining one suspect. The second managed to flee and was caught a day later.
The adult, apprehended on March 30, told authorities that he himself had been contacted over social media to have the bomb placed as part of a personal vendetta and that the device was delivered to his home by a stranger.
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