Five terrorist attacks have been foiled in France since the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris , the country 's Prime Minister Manuel Valls said today . His chilling words follow the arrest of a 24-year-old student who was allegedly preparing to storm Catholic churches with an armoury of weapons including Kalashnikov assault rifles . Discussing the case of Sid Ahmed Ghlam , Mr Valls said : 'Numerous attacks had already been foiled - five if you take into account the attack which happily did not take place at [ Paris suburb ] Villejuif ' . Chilling : French Prime Minister Manuel Valls ( left ) today revealed that five terrorist attacks have been foiled in France since the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January . Mr Valls 's comments follow the arrest of 24-year-old student Sid Ahmed Ghlam ( pictured ) who was allegedly preparing to storm Catholic churches with an armoury of weapons , including Kalashnikov assault rifles . Killed : DNA evidence also reportedly links Ghlam to the murder of Aurelie Chatelain ( pictured left and right ) , a 33-year-old mother and fitness instructor who shot dead in her car in a Paris suburb on Sunday morning . Gathered : This is the student residence where Sid Ahmed Ghlam - a 24-year-old computer science student suspected of plotting imminent attacks on churches in France - had reportedly been living . Ghlam , 24 , was caught on Sunday after accidently shooting himself in the leg after allegedly murdering Aurelie Chatelain , a 33-year-old fitness instructor . He was said to be on his way to a number of churches in the Paris area , ready to kill as many people as he could . Ghlam 's profile was very similar to the three Al Qaeda and Islamic State linked Parisians who killed 17 people around the French capital in January . They murdered staff including cartoonists from the anti-Muslim satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo , as well as police officers and four Jews , before being killed themselves . Attack : Five terrorist attacks have been foiled in France since January 's Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris . Tragic : Ghalm 's arrest came just hours after the murder of Aurelie Chatelain ( pictured ) , a 33-year-old mother and fitness instructor , who was riddled with bullets as she sat in her car in the Paris suburb of Villejuif . Victim : DNA tests reportedly link the arrested man to the murder of Ms Chatelain ( pictured ) on Sunday . Police are now hunting for at least two accomplices linked to Ghlam , who moved to France in 2009 from Algeria , its former north African colony . Prosecutors believe Ghlam was in contact with an IS radical in Syria , whom they believe ordered attacks on churches in the Paris area . The intelligence has led to Mr Valls ordered increased security , including police and army patrols , around 178 Catholic institutions . 'The threat has never been as high , ' Mr Valls told France Inter radio station . 'We have never had to face this kind of terrorism in our history . ' Hundreds of French nationals are said to have joined jihadist ranks in Iraq and Syria , accounting for almost half the European fighters there , according to report by the French Senate . Mr Valls said 1,573 French citizens or residents have been implicated in 'terror networks ' , 442 of which were currently in Syria and 97 of whom had died there . ' I want to remind you that seven French citizens have died while carrying out suicide attacks in Syria or Iraq , ' Mr Valls added .
Manuel Valls said France is facing an unprecedented threat from terrorism . 'We have never had to face this kind of terrorism in our history , ' he said . Comments follow the arrest of 24-year-old student Sid Ahmed Ghlam who was allegedly plotting attacks on Catholic churches in Paris . DNA also reportedly links Algerian to murder of dancer Aurelie Chatelain .