Amid heightened concerns about security in Europe, authorities have arrested a French national suspected of planning an attack, according to Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
The plan was in an “advanced stage” and the person arrested was implicated at a “high level,” Cazeneuve said Thursday. He accused the individual of belonging to a terror network that planned to strike within France.
The arrest was the result of a detailed investigation that took place over several weeks, he said during a televised address.
Following what Cazeneuve characterized as the “important arrest,” French police carried out an anti-terror operation in Argenteuil, outside Paris. Residents of a building were evacuated.
The operation has “no tangible link” to the recent terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, Cazeneuve said.
The identity of the French national was not immediately clear, nor was the terror network to which the individual is accused of belonging.
What remains clear are the concerns about terror across Europe.
The U.S. State Department issued a warning to its citizens there this week.
U.S. citizens traveling to and throughout Europe were advised that “terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks” in the region, possibly targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants and transportation.
“U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using mass transportation,” said the alert.
Additionally, investigators are aware of multiple additional ISIS plots in Europe possibly linked to the Paris and Brussels networks that are in various stages of planning.
A combination of electronic intercepts, human sources and database tracking indicates several possible targets had been picked out by the ISIS operatives over the past few months since the Paris attacks, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials.
Since the start of the year, 75 people have been arrested by French authorities as part of the fight against terrorism. Those arrests have led to 37 individuals being placed under formal investigation and to 28 others being incarcerated, Cazeneuve said.
