A teenager among three terror suspects arrested on in France this week had been in contact with an ISIS recruiter who told him to ‘hit France’, according to the country’s prosecutor.
Ismael K, 17, had been talking with the extremist fighter online and was urged to flee to the Middle East until his mother stopped him, at which point he was ordered to attack his home country.
The alleged plot was revealed after Ismael was arrested on Wednesday along with former marine Djebril A, 23, and alleged accomplice Antoine F, 19.
According to officials, the trio had plotted to attack military base Fort Bear, in southern France, where Djebril had once worked.
Once inside they planned to kill the officers on the base before capturing and beheading the commander on film, echoing the sick ISIS beheading videos produced in Syria, it is alleged.
Communicating using an encrypted online messaging service, the three men allegedly said that after their attack they would attempt to flee to Syria.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the attack was due to take place in December this year or January next year, when Djebril said surveillance of the base would be lower than usual.
The group came into contact with each other via social networks and formed a plan to go to Syria to wage jihad alongside other IS extremists.
However, Ismael’s mother became concerned about his radical views and contacted the authorities.
He was subsequently interviewed by counter-terrorism officials and was aware he was under surveillance so was forced to abandon his original plans.
It was after that interview that the ISIS Jihadi delivered his chilling command.
Moulins said: ‘There was in particular an exchange between Ismael K. and an individual currently fighting with IS in Syria who – given it was impossible for him to leave France – told him to “hit on the ground in France”.’
Djebril then suggested the target, having worked on the base during his naval career.
He joined the service in June 2013 as a signalman but suffered health problems and was eventually discharged in January 2015, officials said.
It is believed the group planned to arm themselves with handguns for the attack but no weapons were found when searching their homes.
However, police did say they had seized ‘paramilitary’ equipment – including protective gloves used by jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
The three men are expected to be interviewed by a judge on Friday ahead of possible charges.
Molins added: ‘Djebril A., Antoine F. and Ismael K. have several things in common – as well as their young age.’
‘They have never been convicted, had been educated to baccalaureate level (equivalent to A-levels) and were strongly radicalised, in particular because they watched IS videos.’
France remains on high alert more than six months after jihadist attacks in January that claimed 17 lives and started with shootings at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
‘We are facing a terrorist threat that we have never seen before – an external threat and an internal threat,’ Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Thursday.
Although the foiled assault was planned around the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, none of the three alleged plotters indicated that the date was chosen deliberately for this reason. The government says there are 1,850 French citizens or people living in France who are ‘implicated’ in jihadist networks, with around 500 in Syria or Iraq.
France, which is home to Europe’s largest Muslim population, has beefed up security, posting 30,000 police officers and soldiers outside 5,000 sensitive sites such as schools and religious sites. Authorities have also set up a hotline for friends or family concerned that someone could be tempted to wage jihad – an effort that has yielded 2,500 leads.
