Your trusted source

Police who searched buildings in Paris as part of a far-reaching investigation into a suspected terrorist cell found "all the elements needed for making explosives," prosecutors said Wednesday, according to CNN.

The searches were connected to a big police operation Saturday targeting radical Islamists suspected of involvement with the bombing of a Jewish supermarket in September.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Wednesday that the 12 suspects in custody would be detained for an additional 24 hours. Normally French authorities can only hold suspects for 96 hours before they must press charges or release them.

Police who searched premises in Torcy, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) east of Paris, overnight Tuesday found bags of potassium nitrate, sulfur, saltpeter, pressure cookers and headlight bulbs, all items useful in making homemade explosives, Molins said in a statement.

A shotgun and handgun were also found, he said. The search continued Wednesday morning.

The premises where the alleged explosives components were found are used by the same person at whose address a list of Jewish organizations was found by police Saturday, Molins said.

However, police inquiries suggest that two people suspected of throwing a grenade through the window of the Jewish supermarket in Sarcelles, a Paris suburb, may still be at large, he said.

Given the nature of the discoveries made by police and the need to find all the members of the presumed terror cell, it was vital to extend the detention of the suspects by an additional 24 hours, Molins said.