Swiss police arrest two over terror threat, Geneva still on alert

PanARMENIAN.Net - Swiss police have arrested two people with Syrian passports and found traces of potential bomb-making chemicals in a car as security remains high around Geneva amid a terrorism alert and a hunt for suspects, authorities said Saturday, December 12, CNN News reports.

Authorities have been looking for at least two people with indirect links to suspects in the November 13 Paris terrorist attacks. It was not immediately clear whether Saturday's arrests were linked to the attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed.

The two were arrested Friday and charged Saturday, according to a statement Saturday from the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.

They were arrested on suspicion of the manufacture, concealment and transport of explosives or toxic gases, as well as on suspicion of violating the prohibition of groups such as al Qaida, ISIS and similar organizations.

Geneva Minister of Economy and Security, Pierre Maudet, told CNN two people of Syrian origin were arrested in the greater Geneva area.

The two suspects had Syrian passports, Geneva prosecutor Olivier Jornot told reporters in Geneva Saturday.

According to a European security source briefed on the investigation, the materials Swiss police found were traces of precursor products. Precursor products are chemicals which could be turned into explosives or other harmful substances.