Report: Lebanese Intelligence Warns of Attacks in France

The Lebanese intelligence had informed its European counterparts that several jihadist groups linked to organizations in Syria or even in Europe will carry out a huge terrorist act on French territories.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Friday, several intelligence agencies, including that of Lebanon, warned European countries that jihadists will target France with terrorist acts.

“We were wrong for not taking your warnings seriously,” European security agencies informed the Lebanese counterparts.

The report pointed out that the Lebanese intelligence advised France to take further precautions as “information obtained indicated that a new terrorist act, stronger than this week's incidents, will be carried out in the country.”

The warnings prompted several western embassies in Lebanon, including the French mission in Beirut's Sodeco area, to take strict security measures, the newspaper added.

The worst spasm of terror violence in more than a half-century stunned France on Wednesday. Eight journalists, two police officers, a maintenance worker and a visitor were killed in the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris and 11 people were wounded, four of them critically.

The publication had long drawn threats for its depictions of Islam, although it also satirized other religions and political figures.

France is taking part in airstrikes in Iraq in a bid to defeat the Islamic State group, and intervened to rout out al-Qaida extremists from northern Mali, a former French colony.

Police SWAT teams backed by helicopters are still tracking two heavily armed brothers with al-Qaida sympathies suspected in the newsroom massacre.

Authorities fear a second strike by the suspects as more than 88,000 security forces were deployed on the streets of France.

They also extended France's maximum terror alert from Paris to the northern Picardie region, focusing on several towns that might be possible safe havens for the two — Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34.

H.K.

G.K.