Paris arrests 4 islamist militants heading for al-Qaeda in Mali

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

French police arrested four suspected Islamist militants near Paris on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the recruitment of fighters for al Qaeda-linked forces in Africa's Sahel, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said.

The arrests are the first since France intervened in Mali last month to repel an offensive by Islamist rebels, which has raised concerns about possible reprisal attacks on French interests at home and abroad.

Three of the four men arrested were Franco-Congolese and one was Malian, a police source said.

"There is an operation ongoing in the Paris region, conducted by the DCRI (domestic security service), which comes after the arrest of an individual a few months ago on the border between Mali and Niger," Valls told BFM TV.

That man was a Franco-Congolese social worker named Cedric Lobo, 27, who was arrested in Niamey, the capital of Niger, while attempting to purchase a four-wheel drive vehicle with a false driver's license, the police source said.

Lobo was attempting to reach the historic Malian city of Timbuktu to join al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) when he was detained by Niger police.

He was subsequently extradited to France, where he was charged with planning attacks and remanded in custody.

Valls said the arrests had come after a long investigation into al Qaeda recruitment rings led by anti-terrorism judge Marc Trevidic.

from AL ARABIYA
Last Updated: Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:59 pm (KSA) 09:59 am (GMT)

Posted in: Africa, al Qaeda, Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, Mali, Niger