Six Arrested in French Anti-Terrorist Raid

Local Editor

French police arrested six people on Monday who are suspected of belonging to a radical extremist cell and of preparing attacks in France, a police source said.

The suspects, aged 22 to 38, were arrested in and near the Paris region. They were all known to police for various offences and one had appeared in an anti-terrorism investigation.

They can be held for questioning for up to 96 hours before judges decide whether to put them under formal investigation.
France has been on heightened security alert since January, when its military intervened in Mali to help repel al-Qaeda-linked rebels who had seized control of the north of the former French colony.

The members of the suspected cell include one man from Benin, another from the Comoros and four French nationals, a source close to the case said.

They are suspected of being involved in the hold-up of a branch of the Banque Postale in Seine-et-Marne in April "and apparently planning to commit other armed robberies", the source close to the investigation said.

According to the anti-terror police investigators, "they were planning to commit terrorist acts targeting well-known figures in France," the source added.
The suspects can be held for up to 96 hours before being charged or released.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team