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Explosives missing from French army base

Terrorism has not been ruled out as a motive for the theft.

By Ed Adamczyk
The village of Miramas, France, where explosives were discovered missing from a French munitions base Tuesday (CC/ wikipedia.org)
The village of Miramas, France, where explosives were discovered missing from a French munitions base Tuesday (CC/ wikipedia.org)

MIRAMAS , France, July 7 (UPI) -- Explosives were stolen from a French munitions base in southern France, the Marseille, France, prosecutor's office announced Tuesday.

An undetermined number of explosives, 180 detonators and 60 grenades are missing from the 200-acre Miramas army base, 60 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of Marseille. Terrorism has not been ruled out, the prosecutor's office said, adding it presumed an "organized group" was responsible.

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This is a site that is highly secure and well-guarded. All state services are on tenterhooks," Mayor Frederic Vigouroux of the nearby town of Miramas said. "There are dogs and everything else that is needed to keep this material safe. The thieves apparently gained entry via a fence. The whole town has been listening to the news on the radio or reading newspapers."

The theft occurred while France still is under increased security level, prompted by a terrorist attack on a Paris magazine office in January and an incident in July in which an alleged Islamist terrorist beheaded his supervisor while attempting to blow up his place of employment, a Lyon industrial gas plant.

The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will order all military sites in France storing munitions to complete an internal safety assessment.

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