French police have detained five women from the same family at the weekend in southern France on charges of planning a terrorist attack, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Citing a source close to the operation, state-run Franceinfo radio reported that the anti-terrorist police arrested an 18-year-old woman, her mother and three sisters on Saturday night as part of a probe into "terrorist criminal association" and "possession and manufacture of explosives in connection with a terrorist enterprise."
The young suspect was spotted after posting messages on social media suggesting that she would act during the Easter holidays, according to the report.
Investigators believed she had planned to attack a church in Montpellier in southern France. They found in the suspects' home chemicals that were frequently used by Jihadists to manufacture homemade explosive devices, in addition to firing device from a cell phone and a Japanese sword, the Franceinfo said.
All the detainees had no criminal background and were not known to intelligence, it added.