Two women with Islamist militant ties who tried to set off a crude car bomb outside Notre Dame cathedral three years ago have each been sentenced of at least 25 years in jail, reports The Guardian.
They were among five members of an all-female jihadist cell, aged between 22 and 42, who were arrested after a car packed with seven gas cylinders was found parked near the bustling esplanade in front of the Paris cathedral in September 2016.
The two main defendants, Inès Madani, 22, and Ornella Gilligmann, 32, had doused a grey Peugeot 607 with diesel in the middle of the night and tried but failed to set it alight with a cigarette. The court heard that if it had exploded it would have caused a devastating firebomb and killed or injured at least 60 people in a nearby bar. They were sentenced to 30 years and 25 years in prison respectively.
Prosecutors said they had parked the car after sending a video claiming responsibility for the planned attack to Rachid Kassim, a French member of the so-called Islamic State group. Kassim was sentenced in absentia to life in jail, according to Le Figaro.