French cultural monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre were top terror targets of a foiled French jihadist, according to leaked transcripts published Wednesday of Internet conversations he had with an al-Qaeda-linked group, reports FRANCE 24.
The messages were sent using a “special encryption programme”, according to French daily Le Parisien, and took place between a 29-year-old French citizen of Algerian descent, named only as Ali M, and a “senior member” of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The pair exchanged messages online for a year, according to the report.
These were decrypted after Ali M’s arrest by France’s intelligence services in July 20. The halal butcher and father of two from the Vaucluse region of southern France was on his way to train with AQIM in the southern Algerian desert when he was detained.
According to the leaked documents, in April 2013 Ali M was asked to send “suggestions on the future activity of jihad [in France]”.
The following day, he sent a long email detailing his chilling plans.
“The targets should be average French citizens from the poorer classes gathering in small places, such as bars and nightclubs,” he wrote. Wanting to avoid any attacks on France’s Muslim population, he suggested avoiding shopping areas.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.