France at risk of chemical, bacterial warfare in Daesh fight: Prime minister
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says his country could face the risk of chemical or biological warfare in its fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
“We must not rule anything out. I say it with all the precautions needed. But we know and bear in mind that there is also a risk of chemical or bacteriological weapons,” Valls said in a Thursday speech to lawmakers.
The sobering warning came during a congress session to debate the extension of a state of emergency announced after a series of coordinated attacks on November 13, which left at least 129 people dead and some 352 others injured.
The French premier also urged European leaders to adopt immediate measures on sharing airline passenger information to forestall new threats.
As part of new security measures, police officers in France will be allowed to carry weapons when they are off-duty, police spokesman Jerome Bonnet said. They will be able to carry their handgun to “protect themselves and the population in public places,” Bonnet told France’s BFM TV channel.
The off-duty officers carrying their gun should wear a police armband to be identified, authorities said.
France has been participating in a US-led coalition that is carrying out an aerial campaign against purported Daesh positions in Syria. Following the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande pledged to step up that fight.
French warplanes bombarded a number of purported Daesh positions in the Syrian city of Raqqah on November 15 and 16, destroying what they said were a training camp and a command post belonging to the Takfiri group.
Hollande has said France is at war with terrorism by Daesh.
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