Chechens Arrested With Explosives in France Probably Not Terrorists

Officials Say Group Fits the Profile of Organized Crime

Speculation about yet another terror plot uncovered with the overnight arrest of five Chechens in southern France with a large cache of explosives may have been premature,  according to investigators.

Local prosecutors say that the men were not known to anti-terrorist police, and that there was no evidence of any involvement by any in terrorist groups, and that rather they fit the profile of an organized crime faction.

Though the investigators said they won’t rule anything out at this point, they consider it “highly unlikely” that they were actually planning some sort of large scale terrorist attack.

Initial reports that a soccer stadium was their target appear to have been based entirely on the fact that they found the explosives in a neighborhood near a soccer stadium, are being discounted because the team that plays there isn’t scheduled to have any games for almost two weeks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.