Police think the traces of ricin found in Paris and an illicit lab discovered earlier in London may be parts of a plan for terrorist attacks. Police suspect that the traces of the poison ricin discovered in a train station locker here are connected to recent alleged plots by Al Qaeda to produce the deadly substance in London and to carry out chemical attacks in Paris, authorities said Friday. The discovery this week of the toxin, which is derived from the castor bean plant and can be used as a biological weapon, was unprecedented in France. It caused concern in a capital that, as a result of the war in Iraq, has gone on heightened alert for possible terrorist attacks. Anti-terrorist police have focused on an alleged Algerian-dominated network whose operatives are believed to have received specialized training with biological and chemical weapons at Al Qaeda camps in the Russian republic of Chechnya. One of the suspected leaders is Abu Musab Zarqawi, a veteran terrorist who has operated in Iraq with the protection of the Iraqi regime, according to U.S. officials. Full Story
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