French man given preliminary charges in alleged attack plot

PARIS – An anti-terrorism magistrate in Paris has handed preliminary charges to a French man suspected of a role in an alleged attack plot.

A judicial official said the 42-year-old man, who was not named, was charged on Sunday with criminal terrorist association, acquiring arms and holding and transporting them in connection with a terrorist enterprise.

The official did not provide any information on the nature of the attack allegedly in the works or confirm French media reports that the man was linked to two brothers recently arrested in Belgium with an arsenal of weapons and police uniforms.

The judicial official, who asked not to be named because of the ongoing investigation, said the suspect was arrested Wednesday in Wattignies, in northern France.

He was jailed after being charged.