French police foil Paris bomb attack outside US bank

French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case told AFP.

The incident occurred around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the chic 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets from the Champs-Elysees.

Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device, made of five litres of liquid (1.3 gallons), believed to be fuel, and an ignition system, one of the sources said.

The suspect, who allegedly said he was recruited for the operation on social media, was accompanied by a second man, who took flight as officers came to arrest them. 

The ignition component had 650 grams (23 ounces) of explosive powder in it, according to an initial assessment. The whole device was taken to the Paris police's forensics lab for full analysis. 

France's counter-terrorism prosecutor's office told AFP it had immediately taken over the investigation, and confirmed the suspect caught was in police custody.

It said the probe it has launched was into "attempted damage by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a terrorist undertaking" and a "terrorist criminal conspiracy".

Both the Paris judicial police and France's domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), were involved in the probe, the office told AFP.

- Allegedly recruited for 600 euros -

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According to a police source, the suspect said he had been recruited via the Snapchat app to carry out the bombing in exchange for the sum of 600 euros ($692).

A man had dropped him off at the scene in a car, the same source said. 

When the patrolling officers arrested him, he was about to ignite the device with a lighter, the source said.

A spokesperson for Bank of America, whose US headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina, told AFP that they were aware of the situation and were in communication with the French authorities. 

France's interior minister, Laurent Nunez, on X hailed the speedy action by the police officers, given "the current international situation".

Since the outbreak of the war of the Middle East, European countries have been on high alert for potential attacks on Iranian dissidents, Jewish places of worship and US-Israeli interests. 

Nunez said that, in France, "vigilance remains more than ever at a high level".

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