Islamic State Guided Women in Paris Terrorist Plan, Prosecutor Says Three suspects held after car with gas canisters found near Notre Dame By Matthew Dalton and Noemie Bisserbe
http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-guided-women-in-paris-terrorist-plan-prosecutor-says-1473439808
PARIS—Islamic State militants in Syria directed a group of women who gathered materials for a car bomb left near Notre Dame Cathedral, French prosecutors said Friday, highlighting the group’s apparent ability to command homegrown terror cells from afar.
One of the women, identified as 23-year old Sarah H., had ties to French nationals who killed three people in recent terror attacks on French soil, Paris Prosecutor François Molins told a news conference.
Sarah H. had promised to marry Larossi Abballa, 25, who died in a raid in a Paris suburb after killing two police employees and taking their infant hostage in June, Mr. Molins said. She then pledged to marry Adel Kermiche, a 19-year-old who would die in a hail of police bullets in July after slaying a priest as he celebrated Mass in a small town in northern France, he said.
Those alleged ties suggest Islamic State managed to cultivate a homegrown network of radicals capable of hiding from French intelligence for months as its members carried out attacks.
Mr. Molins said Sarah H. was one of three radicalized women—including two women identified as Amel S., 38, and Inès M., 19—who were detained Thursday night after a violent clash with police, in which two officers were stabbed. The three met over the internet, Mr. Molins added.
Inès M. was taken into custody carrying a note in which she swore allegiance to Islamic State, he said.
“The young women were remotely controlled by individuals located in Syria within the ranks of the terrorist organization Daesh,” Mr. Molins said, referring to Islamic State by another name.
None of the three women has been charged, and their lawyers’ identities weren’t known. CONTINUE AT SITE
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