France's plans to deal with Islamic State's 'child assassins'
A jihadist from Toulouse in south-west France who fought in Syria has claimed that Islamic State has been planning attacks to be carried out by children in Europe. Though only one suspicious case has been found among the 70 or so minors who have returned to France from the Syria and Iraq battle zones so far, the French authorities are taking the threat seriously. According to Mediapart's information, children aged as young as 13 could be placed in custody when they arrive in France from that region. Matthieu Suc reports.
ItIt was apparent confirmation of a fear that the French security services have harboured for nearly three years. The jihadist Jonathan Geffroy, originally from Toulouse in south-west France, had been expelled from Turkey on September 11th, 2017, and picked up by the French domestic intelligence agency the DGSI. In custody the man who now calls himself 'Abu Ibrahim-al-Faransi' acknowledged that he had fought for Islamic State in Syria. But that was not all he said.
