Two Syrians arrested over suspected explosives plot in Switzerland

Two Syrian men suspected of being linked to terrorism were arrested in Geneva on Friday on suspicion of making and transporting explosives, a government official has said.

The two suspects – detained in Geneva on Friday days after a “terrorist threat” alert was issued – are accused of the “manufacture, concealment and transport of explosives and toxic gases”, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The men are also under suspicion of allegedly violating Swiss law, which bans membership of groups affiliated to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Qaeda, and “similar organisations.”

Geneva prosecutor Oliver Jornot said the two men carrying Syrian passports had recently arrived in Geneva when they were arrested and could not speak any French. More arrests were expected in the coming days amid heightened security in the Swiss city, Jornot said.

Geneva security officials had recently raised the alert level in the city in connection with a hunt for four suspects linked to the Paris attacks on 13 November, but Jornot said there was no indicate that these suspects were in Switzerland.

Photographs of the four bearded men suspected of being ISIS members were being circulated among police patrols, following a tip-off from US intelligence.  The photo published in the Swiss press show the four smiling men holding up their index finger, an Isis sign. It was reported that one possible target for attack was a US-Russian meeting on Syria that had been scheduled to take place in Geneva.

Armed police were deployed at sensitive locations across the city, which borders France and is home to the United Nations' European headquarters. Policemen armed with submachine guns were posted at the entrances to United Nations institutions as well as the airport, train station and other key landmarks.