This follows information sent Wednesday by the confederation to law enforcement authorities in Geneva signaling suspects were believed to be located in Geneva or in the Geneva region.
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In a statement, the Department of State Security said that Wednesday afternoon they had “received reports of suspects who may be in Geneva or in the vicinity”, and that investigations are being conducted “in close collaboration with national and global services”.
Geneva increased its level of security alert on Thursday as law enforcement personnel actively tracked down individuals thought to be linked to the investigation of the Paris terrorist attacks in November. Geneva police were also deploying more officers at the city’s train station and airport. A van with Belgian plates and two men entered Switzerland from France via the Jura mountains on Tuesday and went back to France after a few hours, Swiss television said.
Two sources confirmed that the Central Intelligence Agency had provided the photo, which shows the four bearded men seated, with their faces blurred but index fingers raised in the air. The United Nations office in Geneva also was increasing its security precautions, even though it said there was no indication of any specific increased threat against the U.N. mission.
Swiss and French officials say they have been working closely together since the Paris attacks.
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The Nov. 13 attacks on Paris, claimed by the Islamic State, left 130 people dead and hundreds of others wounded. Police in several European countries are still searching for individuals believed to have been involved in the attacks or in their planning.
