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French Police Arrest 5 in Terrorism Raid French Police Arrest 5 in Terrorism Raid
(about 2 hours later)
PARIS — The French counterterrorism police on Tuesday raided the southern town of Lunel and arrested five people in an operation aimed at rooting out a suspected jihadist network, a senior police official said.PARIS — The French counterterrorism police on Tuesday raided the southern town of Lunel and arrested five people in an operation aimed at rooting out a suspected jihadist network, a senior police official said.
Christophe Crépin, a spokesman for the UNSA police union, said that the five people arrested were suspected of being part of a group that had been recruiting people to join militants fighting in Syria. He said the arrests were part of a continuing effort to combat terrorism after the deadly attacks this month in and near Paris, including at a satirical newspaper and kosher supermarket, that left 17 people dead.Christophe Crépin, a spokesman for the UNSA police union, said that the five people arrested were suspected of being part of a group that had been recruiting people to join militants fighting in Syria. He said the arrests were part of a continuing effort to combat terrorism after the deadly attacks this month in and near Paris, including at a satirical newspaper and kosher supermarket, that left 17 people dead.
“Those arrested and being questioned are suspected of being part of a group that was recruiting people to go to Syria. It’s only the beginning,” Mr. Crépin said. “After what happened, France is being very careful about any risks.”“Those arrested and being questioned are suspected of being part of a group that was recruiting people to go to Syria. It’s only the beginning,” Mr. Crépin said. “After what happened, France is being very careful about any risks.”
Antiterrorism prosecutors in Paris have been investigating whether Lunel has been infiltrated by a jihadist or sleeper cell network like the so-called Buttes-Chaumont group. That network once provided fighters to battle United States troops in Iraq, and it was a training ground for at least one of the men behind the recent terrorist attacks, Chérif Kouachi.Antiterrorism prosecutors in Paris have been investigating whether Lunel has been infiltrated by a jihadist or sleeper cell network like the so-called Buttes-Chaumont group. That network once provided fighters to battle United States troops in Iraq, and it was a training ground for at least one of the men behind the recent terrorist attacks, Chérif Kouachi.
Lunel, a town of 25,700, has been under scrutiny by the counterterrorism authorities after it was discovered last year that six local Muslims had been killed while fighting in Syria. The town’s authorities have been grappling to understand how the town, in the picturesque Languedoc wine-growing region, has become a breeding ground for jihadists. Lunel, a town of 25,700, has been under scrutiny by the counterterrorism authorities after it was discovered last year that six local Muslims had been killed while fighting in Syria. The town’s authorities have been grappling to understand how Lunel, in the picturesque Languedoc wine-growing region, has become a breeding ground for jihadists.
Investigators say that Lunel has become emblematic of how certain towns, or even streets, in cities can become hotbeds for Islamic militants as networks take root. In Belgium, police officers recently killed two people suspected of being Islamic extremists in the eastern town of Verviers, which has been a launching pad for at least a dozen residents who police say have joined jihadist groups in Syria. Caroline Froelig, a journalist for the regional newspaper Midi Libre who knows the family of one of the suspects, said that one young man arrested in the raids was the brother of another young man who had been killed while fighting in Syria. She said that the young man was suspected of sending money to help finance militants in Syria.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, the mayor of the Lunel, Claude Arnaud, expressed doubt that those leaving the town to wage jihad were part of an organized network. Instead, he said, he was under the impression that those who had left were peers from school who had come under the thrall of extremist websites and had been buffeted by family problems. She said that the two brothers came from a Muslim family with North African roots. She said she had been in touch with members of the family who were upset and did not understand what had happened with their children. “They are very worried,” she said.
Philippe Moissonnier, a Socialist Party member of the local council, said the police had carried out the surprise raid. He said he believed that residents from Lunel going to join militants in Syria were not part of an organized network but rather appeared to be school friends who had become in thrall to jihadist groups via extremist websites.
“This idea that Lunel is somehow an organized breeding ground for terrorism is a fantasy,” he said.
Agence France-Presse, citing witnesses in the area, said that masked counterterrorism officers had carried out the raid at 6 a.m. at a building in the center of town.
“Several unmarked cars drew up,” a resident was quoted by the agency as saying. “Masked men got out and smashed in the doors to the apartments in the building.”
He added, “They put a gun to my head.”
The agency quoted another witness as saying that the police had taken away his brother. “They flattened me, got me on the floor, hit me,” the man told the news agency. “Then they took away my brother.”
Investigators say that Lunel has become emblematic of how certain towns, or even streets, in cities can become hotbeds for Islamic militants as networks take root. In Belgium, police officers recently killed two people suspected of being Islamic extremists in the eastern town of Verviers, which has been a launching pad for at least a dozen residents who the police say have joined jihadist groups in Syria.
The authorities have expressed concern that Al Baraka mosque in Lunel might have become a magnet for extremists and a center for jihadist recruitment. The mosque recently elected a new president, and its imam has condemned the Paris attacks.The authorities have expressed concern that Al Baraka mosque in Lunel might have become a magnet for extremists and a center for jihadist recruitment. The mosque recently elected a new president, and its imam has condemned the Paris attacks.