Six held over failed shoe-bomb attack

FRENCH anti-terrorism agents yesterday arrested six suspected Islamic militants in connection with a failed plot

Wed, 27 Nov, 2002 - 00:00

a British man to blow up a trans-atlantic flight last year with explosives hidden in his shoes.

The six suspects, Algerians and Pakistanis, were taken into custody in a suburban Paris roundup of alleged associates of “shoe bomber” Richard Reid, officials said.

Reid, an avowed follower of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, has pleaded guilty in US federal court to charges he tried to set off explosives in his sneakers during a December 22 flight from Paris to Miami.

The move against Reid’s alleged associates is part of a string of arrests in recent days in France, as fears are rising of a potential terrorist strike in Europe.

Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie was quoted by newspaper Le Figaro yesterday as saying France was vulnerable to terrorism.

“France is among the countries most threatened because it is a Western country that has for years joined in the fight against terrorism,” Alliot-Marie was quoted as saying.

The six suspects arrested yesterday were being questioned in Paris. Under French anti-terrorism laws, they can be held for up to four days before being officially placed under investigation or released.