French anti-terror police have arrested a woman after discovering a fake pregnancy belly that they believe she was planning to use to conceal explosives and conduct a suicide attack, reported the Guardian. The prosthetic plastic belly was found during a search of her apartment and was covered in aluminum, which investigators believe was done to deceive bomb detectors.
The 23-year-old woman, identified only as Camille, was described as a French convert to Islam, and was arrested in Montpellier on Monday along with her 35-year-old husband. They have since been put under house arrest, according to the Mirror.
A computer found in the couple's Montpellier apartment was used to search the Internet for information on female kamikazes and how to make bombs, reported The Blaze, citing France's Midi-Libre. Islamic State propaganda was also found on the computer, and the browser history indicated that someone spent days watching beheading videos and reading Dabiq and Inspire, which are magazine affiliated with al-Qaida, according to the Mirror.
The woman denied that she intended to use the fake belly for terrorism, instead claiming that she planned to wear it to shoplift. The Mirror writes that Camille said she had bought the pregnancy disguise from the Internet to ensure that she was able to get a seat on public transportation.
Camille usually wore a black veil that covered her whole body and rarely left the house, according to Europe 1. While in prison, police said she spent the entire time on her knees praying, rather than sitting on the bench.
"These people have extremely worrying profiles, and what we found is even more so," an anonymous police source told Midi-Libre.
France is still under a state of emergency following last month's terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people and left hundreds more injured.
The French cabinet backed proposals on Wednesday that could see the state of emergency permanently enshrined in the constitution, a move that Amnesty International called "deeply worrying."
"The government cannot undermine the rule of law and violate the very human rights it is trying to protect: freedom of expression, freedom of movement and non-discrimination," said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty's Europe director, according to AFP.
