France seeks possible accomplice to planned church attack uncovered by suspect’s misfire

By Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press

PARIS – Investigators are searching for possible accomplices in the planned attack on a church uncovered when the suspect apparently shot himself by accident, France’s prime minister said Thursday

Manuel Valls told France Inter radio that the would-be attacker could have had a support network.

The 24-year-old Algerian computer science student was arrested Sunday after he called for an ambulance for his wounded leg. Police found an arsenal in his car and authorities linked him to the death of a young Frenchwoman whose body was discovered that morning.

“This kind of individual does not act alone,” Valls said. “There are networks. There are people who provide logistical support.”

Valls, who has pressed for backing for a measure that would give the government increased surveillance and prosecution powers, said more than 1,500 people in France are implicated in networks bringing people to the war zones in Syria and Iraq, with more than 400 on site.

“We have to be lucid. We have to look reality in the face,” Valls said.

France’s Interior Ministry says six planned attacks have been thwarted in France since summer 2013.

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