Site of explosion in central Lyon
Site of explosion in central LyonReuters

A man arrested for a bombing outside a bakery in Lyon, France, last week has told investigators that he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) group, The Associated press reported on Thursday.

A judicial official said that the suspect claimed to have acted in the name of ISIS, though the group has not issued a public claim of responsibility for last Friday's explosion, in which 13 people were wounded.

The suspect was identified as Mohamed Hichem M, according to AP. His parents and brother were also detained, but the Paris prosecutor's office said they were released Thursday without charge.

Mohamed Hichem M., an Algerian student, remains in custody as part of an investigation into attempted murder in relation with a terrorist undertaking. His specific motives remain unclear.

France has been hit by a wave of terrorist attacks in recent years, beginning with the 2015 attack on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine which was followed by the attack on the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in which four people were murdered.

ISIS has claimed some of the attacks on France in recent years. The biggest of these attacks was the November 2015 Paris attack in which 129 people were murdered.

The country has been under a heightened alert in recent years in the wake of the attacks.