A 17-year-old teenager has been detained in France on suspicion of preparing attacks on religious and diplomatic sites that are linked to Israel and the United States. This was reported by the Le Parisien newspaper.

Initially, police detained the 17-year-old schoolboy in the Haute-Saône department when they found a knife on him. However, detention was extended at the request of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI, internal intelligence) of France, which had already been monitoring him due to his radical statements on the Internet, in particular, in support of the actions of Islamic State.

According to the messages intercepted by investigators, the young man was interested in producing explosives and looked for information, which suggests preparations for an attack. He was also considering the possibility of attacking with a bladed weapon. Among his potential targets were various "symbolic" places, including churches and synagogues, as well as diplomatic facilities - the embassy or consulate of the United States or Israel.

The exact date could not be identified, but the DGSI believes that he planned to commit the attack before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Investigators are currently determining how far he had progressed in preparing the attack. The anti-terrorist prosecutor's office has requested his temporary detention.