'Terrorist plot' foiled at Paris airport after Ukrainian-Russian man blows himself up in hotel
Police swooped on a hotel at Paris CDG airport after the man from Donbas blew himself up
Getty/Reuters
French police descended on a Paris hotel after a suspected terrorist used Isis-linked chemicals to blow himself up - sparking even more concerns in France's capital ahead of the summer Olympic Games.
Authorities arrested a 26-year-old Ukrainian-Russian man after the explosion in the B&B HOTEL Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, a source at the French PNAT anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
The Russian-Ukrainian dual national from the occupied Donbas region, who has not been named, was in police custody last night as reports of the suspected bomb plot emerged.
The plotter sustained severe burns to his face and arms after igniting Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) - a chemical nicknamed the "Mother of Satan" which was used by Isis terrorists in the 2015 Paris attacks.
Police swooped on a hotel at Paris CDG airport after the man from Donbas blew himself up
Getty/Reuters
The man was treated by firefighters after he "suffered significant burns following an explosion," on Monday, the source said.
A subsequent search of his room - within the perimeter of France's largest airport - led to the discovery of products and materials intended for the manufacture of explosive devices, the source added.
The source said the PNAT office, working with France's domestic spy agency, has opened an investigation into the man, who is suspected of participation in a terrorist conspiracy and bomb plot.
The Paris CDG airport, which is close to where the man was arrested, said operations had not been affected.
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The "terrorist plot" has sparked further concerns ahead of Macron's flagship summer Games
Reuters
The foiled bomb plot will only heighten concerns in Paris with the Olympics looming; mere days ago, an 18-year-old was arrested for planning an Islamist-inspired attack at the Games.
The suspect, a Russian national from the country's breakaway region of Chechnya, planned to target football events at a stadium in Saint-Étienne, southwest of Lyon.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin congratulated French intelligence services, saying his country will "demonstrate their full mobilisation and their effectiveness in the fight against terrorism and the protection of our country".
"This is the first foiled attack against the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 50th attack foiled by our intelligence services since 2017," he added.
A police statement said the suspect planned to target spectators and police forces, and wanted to attack the Olympic events "to die and become a martyr".
The Games take place against a complex geopolitical backdrop, with wars in Ukraine and Gaza already causing security concerns in host nation France.
The Olympics' opening ceremony, slated to take place on the city's River Seine, has already been scaled back for security reasons.
A senior French interior ministry official said French President Emmanuel Macron had demanded halving the number of spectators from 600,000 following crowd control and security concerns, according to Politico.
The official said the "main threat" to the Games was "Islamist terrorism" - but conceded French intelligence had not yet identified specific plots, and groups like Isis and Al-Qaeda did not have the financial capacity to carry out attacks in France.