French magistrates are investigating the ex-girlfriend of Salah Abdeslam, a man convicted for the deadly 13 November 2015 Paris attacks, prosecutors said. But the national anti-terror prosecutor's office said Abdeslam himself was not involved in any new plot.
The probe comes as France prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks in and around Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more in 2015, claimed by the Islamic State armed group.
Abdeslam was sentenced to life in prison in 2022, while the nine other attackers blew themselves up or were killed by police.
Magistrates opened a probe on Monday after finding several discussions or internet searches linked to a "plot for violent action" on electronic devices found at the home of Abdeslam's former girfriend, a woman identified as Maeva B, according to France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT).
The woman, who has been in custody since Tuesday, exhibited "clear radicalisation and a fascination for jihad", the PNAT said.
She became the target of an investigation during another probe into USB devices that had been given to Abdeslam in detention in December last year and this January.
The couple have since separated, and have not been in a relationship since April, according to the PNAT.
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In addition, a 17-year-old girl living in southern France and a 20-year-old man living in southeastern France were detained on Friday as part of the investigation into the alleged plot.
However, senior police officer Celine Berthon earlier on Monday said Abdeslam "was not implicated in any attack plot", even if he did remain "radicalised".
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The PNAT said analysis of Abdeslam's computer showed he had accessed "audio files, images or videos, most of them relating to the official propaganda of terrorist organisations, Islamic State (group) or Al-Qaeda".
Abdeslam's lawyers said in a statement that he was in "no way suspected of being involved, directly or indirectly, in any criminal project", and that no USB stick had been found.
(with AFP)
