Saudi Arabian intelligence agents are warning the international al-Qaeda terrorist organization has placed France squarely in the cross-hairs.
French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux told RTL Radio in an interview broadcast Sunday, "Several days ago the Saudi services alerted their European counterparts that there was a terrorist threat on the continent, notably in France, coming from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula."
Hortefeux added, "The threat is real and our vigilance is intact.... Vigilance is total."
Since the group coalesced in January 2009, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks.
At least two attacks were thwarted in France this past year, according to Hortefeux, who said there are 61 inmates currently being held on suspicion of involvement in terrorist-related activities. Twelve people were arrested in southern France earlier this month for ties to terrorist organizations.
France is currently at "Reinforced Red," the country's second-highest terror alert.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is comprised of several Yemeni and Saudi terrorist factions that merged more than a year ago to create a network together with remote, but powerful tribes that are opposed to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The attacks in San'a indicate the terrorists are no longer confined to remote regions, and have managed to infiltrate the capital
Earlier this month, the United States issued a particularly strong travel warning to its citizens about the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe, as did Sweden and Japan.
According to the U.S. travel alert, posted in the last week of September, "European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions."
In fact, France warned its citizens that British authorities believed a terrorist attack was "highly likely." Likewise, Britain alerted its own citizens about the possibility of terrorist attacks elsewhere on the continent.
Neither mentioned the possibility of attacks within their own borders.
Threat of Terrorism in France 'Never Greater' French authorities indicated in a recent interview that the level of the threat of terrorist attacks in the country is the same as it was in 1995. French anti-terror chief Squarcini Bernard was quoted by Le Journal du Dimache (The Sunday Journal) in September as saying "The threat [of terrorism in France] has never been greater."
According to Bernard, the issue is not whether Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is alive or dead. "The question now is whether Al Qaeda is contained on the Afghan-Pakistan area or if it can establish a lasting presence in Yemen and Somalia... Remember, 15 years ago when we suffered a series of attacks the threat came from just east of Algiers. It has greatly expanded."
