French authorities have detained a 17-year-old male suspected of planning large-scale terrorist attacks targeting embassies and government institutions, including the embassies of Israel, Britain, and the United States, AFP reported Saturday.
The arrest, which took place Monday at his parents’ home in the western Sarthe region, resulted in minor injuries as the suspect attempted to flee police.
Sources close to the investigation confirmed to AFP that the teenager was formally placed under investigation and incarcerated on Friday, corroborating initial reports by Le Parisien.
A search of his residence uncovered a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) and a list of schools in Le Mans, Sarthe’s main city. Next to the list was a notation of liquid quantities, which investigators believe may refer to components for incendiary or chemical explosives.
The suspect is also believed to have targeted the French interior ministry, media headquarters in Paris, and the European Parliament in Strasbourg. According to one source, the teenager confessed to plotting many of the alleged attacks and expressed determination to carry them out, though he admitted that no operational steps had yet been taken due to the scale of the plans.
Both France’s national anti-terrorist prosecutors’ office and the suspect’s lawyer declined to comment.