A terror suspect has been detained after police caught him allegedly attempting to detonate a bomb outside an American bank in Paris.
The male suspect reportedly tried to ignite a five-litre container crammed with an unidentified liquid within the early hours of this morning.
Police later seized it together with a 650-gram explosive charge after officers were called to the Bank of America branch within the eighth Arrondissement at around 1.30am local time.
The bank is positioned in central Paris, a few streets from the French capital’s iconic Champs-Élysées.
The suspect was with one other person on the time, in accordance with French media.
They reportedly fled the scene and have yet to be traced.
Upon arrival, officers rapidly approached the person and detained him before he could detonate the bomb, in accordance with reports.
During questioning, he claimed to have been recruited through social media site Snapchat, where he was offered £520 (€600) to detonate the device.
He also claimed to have been dropped off outside the bank in a automotive.
Reacting to the news, France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez praised the ‘rapid intervention’ of the responding officers.
‘Well done to the rapid intervention of a police prefecture crew which made it possible to thwart a violent terrorist motion last night in Paris,’ she said.
Ms Nuñez explained the investigation had since been taken over by the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office.
The alleged attack comes after several incidents across Europe amid heightened tensions over the continuing turmoil in Iran and the broader Middle East.
Other incidents include an explosion outside a synagogue within the Belgian city of Liège earlier this month.
It was followed days later by an arson attack on a synagogue within the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
Last week, 4 ambulances that belonged to a Jewish charity in Golders Green, North London, were destroyed by arsonists.
The Metropolitan Police have since arrested and bailed two men in reference to the attack, which the force is treating as an anti-Semitic hate crime.
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