The French antiterrorism police have arrested 11 people, most of them accused of connections to Iraqi insurgency recruitment rings linked to Al Qaeda, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
Two suspects were detained at Orly Airport on Tuesday night, and nine were detained on Wednesday, mostly in southwestern France.
French news reports said that the two men detained at the airport had been expelled from Syria. Le Monde said they had been arrested in Syria in mid-December as part of a group thought to be affiliated with Al Qaeda.
The arrests took place after an investigation by French intelligence services over several months, the Interior Ministry said.
“These individuals from southwestern France are involved in the organization of a jihadist recruitment ring for Iraq,” the ministry said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/world/europe/15france.html?ex=1329195600&en=215257df1cd0dc40&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss