Geneva Police Hunt Paris Terror Attacks Suspects

National authorities gave Geneva authorities a description of suspects who could be in Geneva or the Geneva region.

In Geneva, which is nearly entirely enclosed by France, authorities said the search for possible extremists was being conducted “in the context of the investigation following the Paris attacks”.

Geneva’s government said police had “increased their level of vigilance” with reinforcements sent to key locations including the airports and the headquarters of the many global organisations based in the Swiss city.

Following reports of “precise” terrorist threats in Geneva, the city’s state prosecutor also announced Thursday that a penal procedure has been opened in view of acts preparatory to the commission of an offence.

Geneva’s security department said Thursday that city authorities received word on Wednesday that Swiss federal authorities had flagged “suspicious individuals susceptible to being in Geneva or the Geneva region”.

However Sky News source reported the search wasn’t linked to Paris.

“We have gone from a vague threat to a specific one”, Emmanuelle Lo Verso, a spokeswoman for the safety department, told The Related Press.

Meanwhile, the search for suspect Salah Abdeslam continues.

The guards stationed at vehicle entry points to the United Nations grounds were, unusually, carrying Mp5 sub-machine guns on Thursday.

The official said, however, the suspects were not believed to have had links to the Paris terror attacks, appearing to revise an earlier statement from the Geneva security department. The daily Le Matin reported that one of the suspects had been arrested. She would not comment on the nature of the threat.

They also agreed to share more information among law-enforcement agencies across borders.

A Swiss police officer controls the area in front of the Russian mission in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015.

Security measures were increased because of advice from Swiss authorities, LeBlanc said. He said no additional security staff has been added.

The Geneva complex is the second-largest United Nations center in the world, after the headquarters in New York City. Authorities have not said what role he may have played in the attacks.

They killed 130 people and wounded hundreds.