France: About 11k Individuals on List of Potential Terror Suspects

Local Editor

Approximately 11,000 individuals suspected of being radicalized are currently on the so-called French Fiche S official watch list, France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on Wednesday.

"[There are] more than 10,000, about 11,000, radicalized [individuals]," Collomb told the France Inter radio station.

In further details, Laurent Wauquiez, the leader of France's party The Republicans, demanded on Monday the country's return to a state of emergency in the wake of a hostage crisis in a supermarket in the south of France on March 23, which claimed the lives of four people.

The terrorist attack was conducted by a man of Moroccan origin, who demanded the release of 2015 Paris attacks suspect. Redouane Lakdim hijacked a car in the city of Carcassonne and then took several people hostage at a supermarket in Trebes.

In total, Lakdim killed four people, including a police officer who swapped himself for a hostage. The attacker was killed by police as they stormed the supermarket. During the attack, Lakdim reportedly pledged allegiance to Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL' group].

The state of emergency was introduced after the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris and was lifted in November of last year, but French soldiers have continued to patrol major tourist sites as part of the counterterrorism mission.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team