Overview
- The national anti-terror prosecutor’s office opened a formal investigation for terrorist conspiracy and weapons offenses on March 15, and the brothers were placed in pretrial detention.
- Police arrested the pair on March 10 near the Longuenesse prison after a reported drone was seen over the jail.
- Officers say the vehicle contained a semi-automatic firearm, hydrochloric acid, aluminum foil plus an Islamic State flag.
- While in custody, the suspects admitted planning a terrorist attack in France and said they aspired to martyrdom, according to PNAT.
- Investigators found a recent ISIS pledge video and encrypted efforts to obtain handguns or rifles, assessing the plot as imminent, deadly and antisemitic, with radicalization traced to the past two years.