French police have arrested a man over an explosion in the heart of the southeastern city of Lyon last week which injured 13 people, like reported by rte.ie.
Police had been hunting for a man seen cycling near the scene of the blast who was wearing a green T-shirt and Bermuda shorts, and a carrying a dark rucksack.
France’s Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Twitter said: “A suspect has been arrested.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office, which has jurisdiction over terrorist investigations in France, confirmed that a 24-year-old man who was arrested in Lyon, is the suspected bomber.
He had been the target of an extensive search operation since Friday night when an explosive device filled with screws and ball bearings was placed in front of a bakery near the corner of two crowded pedestrian streets in the historic centre of Lyon.
Police circulated photos of the suspect on social media, leading to “several dozen” calls from people with information.
Sources close to the investigation suspected the explosive was acetone peroxide, or APEX, a volatile compound used in the deadly Paris attacks on 13 November 2015.
Investigators recovered small screws, ball bearings and batteries along with a printed circuit and a remote-controlled trigger device. Officials later said the charge was relatively weak.
Thirteen people were wounded in the blast, eight women, four men and a 10-year-old girl.
None of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening, but authorities said some needed surgery to remove shrapnel.
France has been on high alert following a wave of deadly jihadist terror attacks since 2015 which have killed more than 250 people.
The so-called Islamic State group has been behind many of the attacks, though no one has claimed responsibility for the Lyon blast.
