Alleged ETA Terror Members Arrested Gathering Intel – Paris

Two alleged senior members of the armed Basque separatist organisation ETA accused of gathering intelligence on future targets were arrested near Paris on Thursday, officials said.

Javier Arruabarrena Carlos, 37, and Ohiane Garmendia Marin, 32, were arrested at Charenton-le-pont, a southeastern suburb of Paris, and officers were carrying out a search of their home, a police source said.

The suspects — a man and a woman — were described as “two main members of ETA’s intelligence wing,” by Spanish Secretary of State for the Interior Antonio Camacho who praised the “effective collaboration” between the French and Spanish authorities which led to the arrests.

Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told parliament the pair were responsible for gathering intelligence on future targets.

He said, however, that it was “unlikely” that they were involved in a car bomb which killed a police inspector last Friday in Spain’s Basque region.

French investigators had seized computers during their search of the suspects’ home, said Rubalcaba, adding that it had been a “good week” for security forces battling the organisation.

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Air France Jet Carrying 228 Missing Over Atlantic Ocean

An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers after flying into a strong thunderstorm over the Atlantic Ocean and signaling it had an electric problem.

Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said. The flight left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time.

About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.

The plane disappeared about 190 miles northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian air force spokesman said. The air force began a search Monday morning near Fernando de Noronha, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with air force policy.

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Official Says Bombers Targeted Children On School Trip In Cairo

Bombers targeted a French school trip to Cairo when they attacked a popular tourist site in which a 17-year-old French girl died, officials said.

Egyptian police arrested three people after Sunday’s bomb attack at the Khan al-Khalili market near the Hussein mosque, The Times of London reported Monday. The 20-plus wounded included 17 other French teens, a German, and several Saudis and Egyptians.

“Three people there were arrested on the site as suspects after the attack,” a police official said. “Others are being questioned as witnesses.”

An unexploded bomb was found nearby the blast site. Police detonated the second device safely

The teenagers were part of a group of 54 teenage students from Paris on a last-minute visit to the bazaar before heading home. The group returned from Cairo to Paris Monday, the British newspaper said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon denounced the incident.

“The government condemns with the greatest firmness this criminal act of blind and absurd violence,” Fillon said. “More than ever, France stands beside the Egyptian Republic as it faces this test and fights against terrorism.”

Police blocked off the area, full of cafes and souvenir stands, and used bomb-detecting dogs to find the second device.

Witnesses told The Times one of the bombs appeared to have been thrown from a passing motorbike, while others said that the devices were tossed from a nearby rooftop.

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Taliban Threaten Paris Attacks

The Taliban threatened to launch attacks in Paris unless France withdraws from Afghanistan, in a video aired by Al Arabiya television on Monday. Skip related content

The video also claimed an ambush that killed 10 French troops in August was carried out by the Taliban. It was not clear when the recording was made.

“We have killed 10 French soldiers today as a message to the French so that they rectify their mistakes and withdraw from Afghanistan, and if they don’t they will hear our response in Paris,” said Mullah Farouq, identified as the commander of the unit that raided the French troops, on the video. His remarks were dubbed into Arabic by the station.

The video included footage of what appeared to be a French armoured unit being stalked by Taliban fighters. Some insurgents were later shown wearing uniforms of the French soldiers they had killed.

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El Al Plane Flies From Paris to Tel Aviv Despite Bomb Threat

An El Al flight from Paris landed in Tel Aviv without incident on Wednesday after having been the subject of a bomb threat — days before it took off, Israeli television reported.

Public television reported that the Israeli airline had received an email saying a bomb would be on board Flight 324 leaving Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Wednesday.

It said that after consultations between El Al and Shin Beth, Israel’s security service, a decision was taken not to cancel the flight.

It added that, before takeoff, the Boeing 767 and its 237 passengers were subjected to stepped-up security checks and that the French authorities, who had been informed of the threat, ordered an escort of fighter planes.

Italy and Greece also ordered escorts as the plane passed over their territory before being intercepted by Israeli fighters and escorted to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.

After landing, the plane was subjected to further checks, and no bomb was found.

Officials at El Al were not immediately available for comment on the report.

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