France nabs 2 suspects in Lyon bombing case

France says it has arrested two suspects over a bombing attack that injured 13 people in the southeastern city of Lyon last week.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Monday that police had arrested a 24-year-old man who matched the accounts eyewitnesses have provided of the suspect.

Castaner confirmed one of the arrests in a Tweet, describing the joint action by several agencies as "decisive."

Police and France's internal security service, the DGSI, were looking for a man who was seen cycling near the scene of the blast while sporting a green T-shirt and Bermuda shorts. He also carried a dark rucksack.

The Paris prosecutor's office, which is in charge of probing terror attacks in across France, said in a statement that the unnamed young man was indeed the Lyon bomber.

French media said that the suspect was an IT student of Algerian nationality. Reuters said police waited to wait for him to leave his apartment before making the arrest in case there were explosives in the building.

The second suspect, according to local press, was a minor who attended a school in Lyon. There were no details available about him.

Police launched the manhunt on Friday night, when an explosive device filled with screws and ball bearings went off in front of a bakery near the corner of two crowded pedestrian streets in Lyon’s historic center.

The manhunt saw police circulating photos of their suspect on Twitter and other social media websites, a move that encouraged people with information to make “several dozen” calls and help the officer nail the attacker.

SS