ISIS supporter arrested by police after he's suspected of 'planning attack on churches'

oge okonkwo

April 22, 2015 6:18 PM

24-yr-old Algerian national, Sid Ahmed Ghlam, was detained on Sunday in Paris after he apparently shot himself by accident and called an ambulance

The man was known to French intelligence services

The police in France have arrested a man suspected of planning an attack on "one or two churches" in a Paris suburb, the country's interior minister has said.

24-yr-old Algerian national, Sid Ahmed Ghlam, was detained on Sunday in Paris after he apparently shot himself by accident and called an ambulance.

According to BBC, Ghlam is also being questioned over the murder of a woman on Sunday.

France has stepped up security in the wake of recent attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices and a Jewish supermarket.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Ghlam was known to security services as having expressed a wish to travel to Syria to fight with Islamist militants.

It was gathered that when police arrived at the scene on Sunday, they followed a trail of blood to the suspect's car, where they found weapons and notes on potential targets.

The documents established "beyond doubt" that Ghlam planned on attacking churches, said Mr Cazeneuve.

"Several war weapons, handguns, ammunition [and] bullet-proof vests," were found in his car and home, the minister added.

Documents linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State were also found at his apartment, the Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said. A contact in Syria had advised Ghlam to target churches, he added.

The authorities have carried out security checks on the suspect twice in recent years but did not uncover anything to justify further investigation.

oge okonkwo