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Lyon bombing suspect acted on behalf of IS, media reports say

The BFM TV reported that the suspect told investigators that he had made a bomb and left it near a bakery in downtown Lyon

© AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani

PARIS, May 30. /TASS/. Lyon bombing suspect Mohamed Hichem M. claims to have been acting on behalf of the Islamic State terror group (IS, outlawed in Russia), BFM TV channel said on Thursday.

The suspect told investigators that he had made a bomb and left it near a bakery in downtown Lyon. He added that he had sworn loyalty to the IS.

Read also

At least six injured after explosion in Lyon, media report

According to earlier reports, the 24-year-old Algerian made radical religious statements after he had been arrested. Investigators who inspected his computer found search queries for jihad, radical Islam and manuals to make remote control bombs. In addition, substances needed to make a bomb, which he had bought from a big online shop, were found in his home.

On May 24, an explosion took place on a pedestrian street in the French city of Lyon, leaving 13 injured. Footage from nearby CCTV cameras showed a man on a bike leave a bag with an explosive device filled with nails and bolts near one of the local bakeries.

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