[1][2][3] Concurrently, a van packed with explosives would be detonated outside a U.S. cultural centre at the nearby Place de la Madeleine.
[5][6] Beghal was arrested on 28 July 2001 in Dubai as he was attempting to travel back to Europe on a false French passport after visiting an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
Following surveillance officers overhearing discussion of destroying evidence, French police moved in and arrested seven men on 21 September.
At Trabelsi's apartment, police found machine pistols, chemical formulas for bomb-making, detailed maps of the U.S. embassy in Paris, and a business suit.
[1][2] In December 2002, four men were found not guilty of charges relating to the plot by a Dutch court, citing insufficient and improperly obtained evidence.
[4][11][12] Nizar Trabelsi was sentenced to ten years in prison by a Belgian court on 30 September 2003 for the attempted destruction of public property, illegal arms possession, and membership in a private militia, reflecting Belgium's lack of specific anti-terrorism laws at the time.