PARIS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Portuguese air traffic controllers have helped uncover an alleged terror plot to attack the Eiffel Tower in Paris, helping France avoid a national tragedy.
After the controllers picked up a short-wave radio transmission that detailed the alleged terror plot, they contacted French intelligence officials and security at the national landmark was immediately increased, the Daily Mail said Saturday.
"It was a muffled conversation in Arabic that was passed on to us as a matter of course, but our analysts clearly identified the threat," a police source said.
"The sheer number of visitors going up the tower every day means a bomb blowing up there could cause the most massive loss of life. We've been at our red security alert for several months."
Paris recently has become the target of numerous terror threats detailed on several Web sites linked to al-Qaida, the British newspaper said.
One Web site even named Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe as a possible terror target, leading to enhanced security for the Socialist politician.
