Group suspends threats to France railways

A mysterious group that claimed to have planted bombs on the French railroad network announced this morning it was suspending…

A mysterious group that claimed to have planted bombs on the French railroad network announced this morning it was suspending its terror threats, police said.

In two letters received at the presidential Elysee palace and the prime minister's office, the group, which calls itself AZF, said none of the bombs already planted is capable of exploding, according to police.

The handwritten, one-page letter came a day after a bomb with seven detonators was found half-buried on a train track near the town of Troyes, southeast of Paris, triggering a massive inspection of the tracks.

It was the second bomb discovered hidden under tracks in just over a month and the second inspection of thousands of miles of track.

The first bomb, found in February, was claimed by AZF. There was no claim of responsibility for the one discovered Wednesday by an employee of the state-run train authority.

AZF had threatened to detonate nine bombs planted in the rail network unless it was paid sums of $4 million and €1 million.

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