France charges main suspect in foiled attack plot

PARIS, France – The main suspect in a foiled French attack plot was charged Wednesday with membership of a terrorist group, sources close to the investigation said.

French national Reda Kriket, 34, was arrested near Paris last week and found to have assault rifles and homemade explosives at his home.

His arrest came just 4 months after the jihadist carnage that claimed 130 lives in Paris, and investigators said another major attack had been in an “advanced stage” of planning.

Two other suspects who have been charged over the foiled attack plot are in custody in Belgium, which is reeling from the March 22 suicide bomb attacks on its airport and metro system.

Another suspect was arrested in Rotterdam in Sunday. Dutch police found ammunition at his home.

Kriket, who is linked to the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks, was found guilty in absentia in Brussels in July of being part of a jihadist recruitment network and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Investigations showed Kriket played a key role in financing the network with money from robberies and stolen goods.

Among those who went to Syria through the network were Abdelhamid Abaaoud — the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks — and another Paris attacker, Chakib Akrouh. – Rappler.com