Three young men, aged 19 to 24, were arrested in the north of the country on suspicion of planning a suicide attack on behalf of ISIS. 

The information, revealed Sunday evening, was confirmed by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), which has opened a judicial investigation.

The suspects, originally from Lille and Dunkirk, planned to blow themselves up in a public place to cause maximum casualties. 

During searches, investigators discovered a vest modified to hold explosive charges, a firing device, and a list of ingredients for making TATP, a particularly unstable homemade explosive. One of them had expressed support for the perpetrators of the attacks on social media.

Photo: French police and anti-crime brigade (BAC) members secure a street as they carried out a counter-terrorism swoop - Reuters