French police cars arrive on May 10, 2011 in Levallois-Perret, a Paris suburb, at the Direction centrale du renseignement interieur (DCRI), after the stoppage of six suspected Islamist militants. PHOTO: AFP
PARIS:French police captured seven suspected militants in raids in Paris and its suburbs, officials said Tuesday, as France tightened security in the heat of the end of Osama bin Laden.
Six suspects were detained on Monday but the primary object of the operation, an Indian national who recently arrived from Algeria, was interpreted on Tuesday, according to officials close to the inquiry.
Interior Minister Claude Gueant had said Monday that France had no concrete evidence of a particular attack being planned, but security forces were in a heightened state of vigilance over the threat.
The first arrests were made on Monday in Paris and two largely-immigrant suburbs: Stains, where searches continued, and Garges-les-Gonesse, officials close to the inquiry told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Indian who was arrested on Tuesday was "the primary aim" and had "links with Pakistan", an official said, also on condition he not be identified.
All the raids were carried out by the DCRI police intelligence service as division of a probe into a network alleged to have recruited militants in France and sent them to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The suspects are being held under anti-terrorism statutes at the DCRI`s headquarters in the Paris suburb of Levallois, where they can be held for questioning for up to 4 days without magistrates being consulted.
They were identified partly thanks to intercepted Internet communications between suspected members of the militant recruitment network, police said.
French officials told AFP lately that investigators suspect some of these fighters may have recently returned from the field to France.
"On the day later the destruction of Osama bin Laden I ordered reinforced vigilance," Gueant told reporters on Monday at a joint news conference in Paris with US Attorney General Eric Holder.
Paris residents have noticed a larger than normal security presence around tourist attractions and shipping hubs in recent days, but Gueant said he had not ordered an addition in the terror alert level.
France`s security status has been at the 2nd highest level, "Red" or "probable threat", since 2005, when suicide bombers struck London and triggered fears of more attacks on neighbouring European capitals.
In 2008, officials reinforced security measures but stopped short of moving to the highest threat level, "scarlet" or "specific threat", which would trigger draconian security measures and the closure of possible targets.
French forces are active in Afghanistan as component of the NATO-led coalition battling Taliban guerrillas and Bin Laden`s al Qaeda network has repeatedly threatened to take out attacks against French citizens and interests.
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