France makes counterterrorism arrest of minor, official says

PARIS (AP) - A French official says that counterterrorism police have arrested a teenager following two recent thwarted attacks on French soil.

A security official said on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the case that the suspect was born in 2001.

She added that the teenager has links to Rachid Kassim, who officials say is a French Islamic State member tied to at least four plots to attack France since June. The official wouldn't comment on the links between Kassim and the teen.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday that the arrest was part of French authorities' efforts to target people vulnerable to "calls to carry out killings, led by a certain number of Syrian actors."

He said they "use encrypted means to encourage increasingly young" individuals.