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Swiss arrests two Syrians with traces of explosives in car

December 11, 2015

Two Syrians have been arrested in Geneva with traces of explosives in their car. Switzerland has been on high-alert since a foreign intelligence agency tipped off authorities of a potential "Islamic State" attack.

https://p.dw.com/p/1HMCJ
Schweiz Polizisten vor dem Sitz der UN in Genf
Image: Reuters/P. Albouy

It was not immediately clear if the two Syrian men had any relation to four suspected jihadists that Swiss authorities have been searching for since Thursday after a foreign intelligence agency warned of a planned attack in Geneva.

Pictures of the four men, believed to have been supplied by Central Intelligence Agency, were plastered on Swiss newspapers, with the bearded faces blurred.

Geneva raised its security alert level to three out of five on Thursday after receiving the intelligence and upped the armed police presence at sensitive locations across the city. Geneva is home to the UN's Europe headquarters.

Local RTS television reported a police operation continuing along a road near the French border, where earlier in the week a van with Belgian plates and two men briefly entered Switzerland before returning to France.

Europe has been on high alert following the Paris terror attacks as authorities mount coordinated counter-terror operations across the continent to find potential "Islamic State" cells.

cw/bw (AFP, AP, Reuters)