Bomb threat prompts check of French rail network

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Bomb threat prompts check of French rail network
JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
©2004 Associated Press

Nearly 10,000 rail workers hunted for bombs along thousands of miles of train tracks in France on Wednesday, after a little-known group threatened attacks unless it is paid millions of dollars. Information from the group, called AZF, led to the recovery Feb. 21 of an explosive device buried in the bed of a railway line near Limoges in central France, the government said.

Tests showed the bomb was powerful enough to rupture the track, the government said. It was made from a mixture of diesel fuel and nitrates and had a sophisticated detonator, according to judicial officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. AZF "presents itself as a 'pressure group with terrorist characteristics,"' the Interior Ministry said. Police do not believe the group is connected to Islamic terrorism.

The group's initials are those of a chemical factory that exploded in southwestern France in 2001. Investigators believe that blast, which killed 30 people, was accidental. "We know nothing of this group but we are taking the threat seriously," said Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. President Jacques Chirac's office and the Interior Ministry received at least three letters, on Dec. 10, Feb. 13 and Feb. 17, that threatened nine railway targets, officials said.

The Interior Ministry said Wednesday the group had sent several letters demanding $4 million and 1 million euros, or about $1.2 million, to dismantle bombs it had laid along rail lines. On Tuesday, the government urged French and international media not to report the extortion attempt after rumors of it began to circulate. The government said it was trying to protect efforts to establish contacts with the group.

But the Interior Ministry released details Wednesday after newspapers leaked the story. Investigators have communicated with the group via a special phone line and newspaper classified ads, officials said. After a contact on Monday failed, investigators ran an ad in the newspaper Liberation on Wednesday that read, "My big wolf, didn't see your blue scarf. Give me a sign. Suzy."

The national SNCF rail company sent nearly 10,000 maintenance workers to inspect its 19,800 miles of track on foot. They were looking for anything suspicious including whether the tracks' bedding of loose stones had been disturbed. "It's a heck of a job," SNCF spokesman Francois Remy said. The inspection, starting with major lines that carry passengers and dangerous goods, should be completed Thursday, he said.

The train station in Grenoble, at the foot of the French Alps, was evacuated for more than an hour Wednesday after authorities received a threat from a person identifying himself as a member of AZF, police said. No bomb was found in the station, busy with ski commuters at this time of year.

The terror group "speaks of 10 bombs," Remy said. "We're inspecting the tracks to see if there are others still there." Security on the network was heightened, but service was not interrupted. "If I felt that security wasn't assured, we wouldn't run trains," SNCF chairman Louis Gallois said. Two magistrates, including renowned anti-terror investigator Jean-Louis Bruguiere, are investigating. Bruguiere's previous successes include tracking down the infamous terrorist Carlos the Jackal.

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