French police arrested two teenage women suspected of planning a terrorist attack in the country on behalf of the Islamic State, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
The women, 17 and 19 years old, had communicated with Rachid Kassim, a French recruiter for ISIS, who called on them to stage attacks in France to retaliate for last month’s death of Abu Mohammed al Adnani, a founder and chief spokesman for the terrorist group.
The 19-year-old woman was arrested after police sifted through Kassim’s contacts on the Telegram Messenger app. Authorities found she had been in contact with Kassim for a month prior to her detainment a few days ago.
The woman, a high school student, was previously known to French intelligence services after she was suspected of attempting to travel to Syria two years ago. She was required to check in with police once a week.
The 17-year-old recently converted to Islam and was detained at her home in the southern city of Nice. She was not previously known to intelligence services.
The two women told police they had abandoned their plans to carry out an attack. The 17-year-old said she was "shocked" by the July attack in Nice that killed 86 people after a truck mowed down dozens of people during Bastille Day celebrations.
The attack on Nice marked one of the largest of several in France in less than two years. Terrorist attacks over the past year have killed more than 200 people in France, according to the Wall Street Journal.