Sources close to the inquiry say the young woman, who was arrested along with two others, is the daughter of the owner of the vehicle found packed with gas canisters near Notre Dame cathedral.
ADVERTISEMENTThe main suspect arrested in connection with the inquiry into the discovery of a car packed with gas canisters in central Paris has pledged allegiance to ISIL, according to investigators.
Sources close to the inquiry say the young woman, who was arrested along with two others, is the daughter of the owner of the vehicle.
She was shot and injured during the arrest at Boussy-Saint-Antoine, 25 kilometres to the south-east of Paris.
One of the police officers involved was stabbed.
#BREAKING The main suspect in the case of a car found in Paris packed with gas cylinders had sworn allegiance to IS jihadists: legal source
— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 9, 2016
More details
Speaking on Thursday evening, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve described the women – aged 39, 23 and 19 – as “radicalised, fanatical” and said they “were preparing violent and imminent attacks.”
On Thursday, police had been warned of the threat of an attack in stations in the Essonne region as well as in the French capital.
A police source says the network, which is thought to have been activated from overseas, was gearing up to carry out an attack on Thursday.
Four people are already in custody in connection with the discovery of the car.
Where was the car found?
Investigators are still trying to find out why the car, without number plates and with its hazard warning lights flashing, was left on Sunday morning a few hundred metres from Notre Dame cathedral in a busy tourist area of central Paris.
Five gas canisters and three containers of diesel oil were discovered inside.
Officers feared an attack was being planned but no detonators were found in the vehicle.
#UPDATE Anti-terror probe launched after gas cylinders found in car near Notre Dame https://t.co/nhfSsOQ88Npic.twitter.com/9iBKxxfs98
— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 7, 2016
Mystery Surrounds Car With Gas Containers Found in Paris Near Notre Dame https://t.co/8VQ37UR1ha
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) September 9, 2016
“Taken very seriously”
The discovery of the car is being taken as a serious threat, given the current level of alert in France.
The head of the DGSI (French security service) Patrick Calvar said on the tenth of May the security services fear a new style of attack with explosives being left in places where large numbers of people gather.