seruriermarshal
03-16-2004, 08:51 PM
NEW TERROR THREAT AGAINST FRANCE
France has received a new terror threat by an Islamist group and is taking it "very seriously".
The French justice ministry said the threat came from a group called "Servants of Allah the Powerful and Wise".
The threats are linked to a controversial law that bans the wearing of headscarves in state schools, the newspaper that received the threatening letter said.
The warning spoke of possible attacks within France and against France's foreign interests.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has warned the country not to panic.
It is unclear whether the group was already known to French authorities and the nature of the threats has not been disclosed.
The justice ministry confirmed a communique had been delivered to Le Parisien newspaper, adding that it was "not yet possible" to comment on the document's authenticity.
The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation.
In the past weeks, French authorities have received terror threats from another little-known group that calls itself AZF.
The group claimed to have planted nine bombs along the country's rail network and threatened to explode them unless it was paid millions of dollars.
Information from AZF led to the recovery of an explosive device buried in the bed of a railway line near Limoges in central France in February.
France has received a new terror threat by an Islamist group and is taking it "very seriously".
The French justice ministry said the threat came from a group called "Servants of Allah the Powerful and Wise".
The threats are linked to a controversial law that bans the wearing of headscarves in state schools, the newspaper that received the threatening letter said.
The warning spoke of possible attacks within France and against France's foreign interests.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has warned the country not to panic.
It is unclear whether the group was already known to French authorities and the nature of the threats has not been disclosed.
The justice ministry confirmed a communique had been delivered to Le Parisien newspaper, adding that it was "not yet possible" to comment on the document's authenticity.
The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation.
In the past weeks, French authorities have received terror threats from another little-known group that calls itself AZF.
The group claimed to have planted nine bombs along the country's rail network and threatened to explode them unless it was paid millions of dollars.
Information from AZF led to the recovery of an explosive device buried in the bed of a railway line near Limoges in central France in February.