France Foils Plot to Attack Police, Soldiers in Orleans - Interior Minister

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that the country’s authorities have thwarted an attack targeting police and soldiers in the city of Orleans, france24.com reported on Tuesday.

Cazeneuve said that two French nationals had been arrested in connection with the suspected plot in the region of Orleans, southwest of Paris, on 19 December.

According to French police sources one the suspects is of Moroccan origin and the other one of Togolese origin.

"A planned attack targeting representatives of state forces in the Orleans region was foiled last week by the DGSI (France's internal intelligence agency)," Cazeneuve said during a visit to the city of Toulouse, according to AFP.

The two men, both of them in their 20s, are thought to have been in contact with another French national, currently believed to be in Syria, who is suspected of masterminding the plot.

Reuters quoted a police source as saying that the suspects aimed to attack a military barracks as well as police stations to seize weapons.

Multiple terror attacks killed 130 people in Paris last month. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks.