Authorities stop 'imminent attack' in France; 4 people arrested

by Sinclair Broadcast Group, The Associated Press

Fri, February 10th 2017, 4:02 PM UTC

A French soldier patrols in the courtyard of the Louvre museum with the visitor control in background in Paris, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. The Louvre in Paris reopened to the public Saturday morning, less than 24-hours after a machete-wielding assailant shouting "Allahu Akbar!" was shot by soldiers, in what officials described as a suspected terror attack.(AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

Armed police officers patrol in the courtyard of the Louvre museum near where a soldier opened fire after he was attacked in Paris, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. A knife-wielding man shouting "Allahu akbar" attacked French soldiers on patrol near the Louvre Museum Friday in what officials described as a suspected terror attack. The soldiers first tried to fight off the attacker and then opened fire, shooting him five times. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

French soldiers patrol in the courtyard of the Louvre museum in Paris, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. The Louvre in Paris reopened to the public Saturday morning, less than 24-hours after a machete-wielding assailant shouting "Allahu Akbar!" was shot by soldiers, in what officials described as a suspected terror attack. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

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A French soldier patrols in the courtyard of the Louvre museum with the visitor control in background in Paris, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. The Louvre in Paris reopened to the public Saturday morning, less than 24-hours after a machete-wielding assailant shouting "Allahu Akbar!" was shot by soldiers, in what officials described as a suspected terror attack.(AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

MONTPELLIER, France - Four people were arrested in France, officials there stating the suspects were planning an "imminent attack."

According to CNN, a lab was discovered with the same explosive material used in the Brussels and Paris attacks.

The prosecutor's office said around 70 grams (2.5 ounces) of TATP were seized in the Montpellier-area home of a 20-year-old man, along with a liter each of acetone, oxygenated water and sulfuric acid. TATP, which can be made from readily available materials, was used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels carried out by Islamic State extremists.

Unconfirmed reports indicate a 16-year-old girl and 20-year-old man were among the suspects arrested, and were planning a terror attack.

One of the suspects was believed to be planning a suicide attack but that the investigation had not yet uncovered a specific target.

The 16-year-old reportedly planned to travel back to Syria as a widow, to be taken care of by sympathizers there.

Her planned travel, and social media activity allegedly led authorities to their plan.

Two other men were also arrested, a 33-year-old and a 26-year-old

The nationalities of the four people arrested were not immediately released.

Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said the arrests in three locations in the Montpellier area "thwarted an imminent attack on French soil."

The country's prime minister praised the work of anti-terror investigators.

"Faced with the heightened threat, there has been an extremely strong mobilization of our intelligence services to ensure the French are protected to the utmost," said Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

France is still under a state of emergency after several deadly attacks in 2015 and 2016.

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This is a breaking news story and will be updated. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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