Two arrested after French counter-terrorism raid near Paris

Two people were arrested on Wednesday after police found components that can be used to make explosives in a flat south of Paris, police and judicial sources said on Wednesday.

Gas bottles and other components were found in the flat in the Paris suburb of Villejuif, the sources said. The components can be used to make TATP explosives, one source close to the investigation said.

TATP is an easy-to-make but highly unstable explosive. It has been used by militants in several attacks in western Europe in recent years, including Manchester in May, Brussels in 2016 and Paris in 2015.

The two people arrested were driving a small van that belongs to the flat's tenant, a police source said.

France's counter-terrorism prosecutor is in charge of the investigation, a judicial source said.

The police raid was carried out after a tip from a locksmith that saw chemical products and tools when looking into the flat, one of the sources said.