The pair were reportedly planning major attacks on the Place de la République in Metz, shown here

Two Moroccan nationals deported by France last month were planning major terror attacks in the eastern French city of Metz, according to a Moroccan paper. They were in contact with the Islamic State (IS) armed group and planned to attack a restaurant and a gay nightclub and use vehicles to run down pedestrians, as in the Bastille Day attack in Nice, the Arab-language daily Assabah reports.

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The two men, Redouane Dahbi and Ayyoub Sadki, planned to attack the Place de la République in the heart of Metz, Assabah claims without naming any sources.

IS had promised to provide them with weapons to commit the attacks, in particular against nightclubs frequented by young people, it says, adding that Dahbi was planning to attack a big restaurant in the town centre and L'Endroit, a gay nightclub.

That attack would have been an attempt to emulate June's attack that killed 50 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The pair also intended to set fire to buildings with a large number of residents and to drive vehicles into crowds, as Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel did in Nice, Assabah says.

The pair were extradited to Morocco on 26 August at the request of the Moroccan authorities, who "saved France from a fatal blow", according to the daily.

To read our coverage of last November's Paris attacks click here

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