French police have arrested two more people over an apparent bid to place a homemade explosive device outside the Paris headquarters of Bank of America, prosecutors told AFP on Sunday.
Police also extended the detention period of a minor, arrested on Saturday over the foiled incident, which occurred at 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-Élysées.
French police stopped the apparent bomb attack when they arrested a man about to ignite a homemade explosive device, sources close to the case said.
Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device, made of five litres of liquid believed to be fuel and an ignition system, one of the sources said.
Read moreFrance foils Paris bomb plot outside US bank, opens anti-terror probe
France's counter-terrorism prosecutor's office on Saturday said it had taken over the investigation. The office confirmed that a suspect caught in the act was in police custody and said it was investigating "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), are involved in the probe, the office said.
Recruited via Snapchat
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). When the patrolling officers arrested him, he was about to ignite the device with a lighter.
A separate police source told AFP that while he was placing the charge, the accomplice stepped back, apparently to take a photo or video of the crime with his mobile phone.
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 assets.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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