19 Islamists arrested after S France shooting
Updated: 2012-03-30 21:41
(Xinhua)
|
|||||||||
PARIS - French police arrested 19 people on Friday in a crackdown on suspected Islamist networks after an Al-Qaeda-inspired gunman killed seven in southern France this month.
"There will be further operations, allowing us to expel a number of people who have no business in the country," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The operation came a week after the 24-year-old Muslim gunman Mohamed Merah claimed responsibility for killing three national paratroops from ethnic minorities and four Jewish in the southern cities of Toulouse and Montauban.
Friday's raids were not directly related to Toulouse's killing spree but it's in connection with a form of Islamist radicalism, Sarkozy added in an interview on Europe 1.
People suspected of conducting radical Islamist activities had been arrested in swoops in Toulouse, Nantes in western France, the Paris region and southeastern France.
A number of weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles, were seized in Friday's operation, the president said.
Merah, of Algerian origin, was killed last Thursday when he tried to shoot his way out of his apartment following a 32-hour police siege in Toulouse.
On Thursday, France prevented four Muslim imams from entering its territory to participate in an Islamic conference next month as they "represent a high risk of disturbing the public order."
- Relief reaches isolated village
- Rainfall poses new threats to quake-hit region
- Funerals begin for Boston bombing victims
- Quake takeaway from China's Air Force
- Obama celebrates young inventors at science fair
- Earth Day marked around the world
- Volunteer team helping students find sense of normalcy
- Ethnic groups quick to join rescue efforts
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Supplies pour into isolated villages |
All-out efforts to save lives |
American abroad |
Industry savior: Big boys' toys |
New commissioner
|
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
Today's Top News
Health new priority for quake zone
Xi meets US top military officer
Japan's boats driven out of Diaoyu
China mulls online shopping legislation
Bird flu death toll rises to 22
Putin appoints new ambassador to China
Japanese ships blocked from Diaoyu Islands
Inspired by Guan, more Chinese pick up golf
US Weekly
Beyond Yao
|
Money power |