French Intelligence Warned India Of Plot To Target Embassy In Paris

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[url="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3433248.ece?homepage=true"]http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3433248.ece?homepage=true[/url]



TTP plot illustrates growing threat from al-Qaeda-linked group, India fears
France's intelligence services had warned of an imminent plot to attack the Indian embassy in Paris late last year, highly placed government sources have told [i]The Hindu[/i].
The warnings, the sources said, were issued on the basis of French intelligence surveillance of Pakistan-trained jihadist Mohammed Merah — raising the prospect that information may have long been available on the lethal intent of the man who killed seven people, including three children.
Merah was killed in a dramatic 32-hour standoff with police at his Toulouse apartment. In a videotape found in the apartment, Merah can be seen holding a little girl by her hair, calmly reloading his gun before firing. In another, he tells a soldier: “You kill my brothers, I kill you.”
Leading Paris-based newspaper [i]Le Monde[/i] reported on Thursday that Merah told French police he had been tasked to attack by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Indian government sources confirmed that embassy security had been tightened in the wake of the French warnings, possibly defeating the plot.
Evidence of Merah's jihadist links had, interestingly, long been available to France. In 2010, Merah was handed over to France after being captured while fighting with jihadists around Kandahar. Yet, he never faced criminal proceedings, and was able to return to Pakistan in 2011— suggesting France's intelligence services allowed him to operate in the hope of gathering more information.