Terrorism Not Ruled Out After Explosives Stolen From French Army Base

Local Editor

Around 200 detonators and explosives had been stolen from a munition base in the town of Miramas, south of France. The theft came despite an increase in security after two major terrorist attacks in 2015.

Explosives, along with 180 detonators and 40 grenades were snatched from the complex, which is around 60 kilometers northeast of Marseille.

Furthermore, investigators were still trying to find out the full extent of the raid and hadn't ruled out that more explosives could be missing. The theft was first spotted at the 200-acre base, used as a logistics center for France's foreign operations, on Monday.

The mayor of Miramas, Frederic Vigouroux, said he was extremely concerned about the theft at the military base, which hosts up to 200 military and civilian personnel. The mayor added that it's the largest munitions base in Provence and there could be as many as 260 detonators unaccounted for saying: "This is a site that is highly secure and well-guarded. All state services are on tenterhooks."

Moreover, Vigouroux said he was surprised of the thieves' ability to access the highly guarded complex, while it later emerged that there were reportedly no security cameras around the site's fences.

"There are dogs and everything else that is needed to keep this material safe. The thieves apparently gained entry via a fence. The whole town has been listening to the news on the radio or reading newspapers," he added.

The investigators initially believe that those involved in organized crime were behind the raid, but they haven't ruled out terrorism.

The theft came amid heightened security after a suspected Takfiri beheaded his boss and then tried to blow up a factory near Lyon on June 26. Yassin Salhi, 35 tried to blow up the "Air Products" gas factory in the town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier.

He entered the facility using his duty pass. Police later found the beheaded body of Salhi's boss on the factory premises.

Accordingly, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls spoke about the necessity of combating Takfiri extremism after the incident.

"We cannot lose this war, because it is essentially a war of civilization," he said. "It is our society, our civilization and our values that we must defend," Valls added.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team