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French Police Arrest 5 in Terrorism Raid French Police Arrest 5 in Terrorism Raid
(about 1 hour 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.”
Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said in a statement that five people ages 26 to 44 had been arrested in Lunel on suspicion of being part of a jihadist network that was indoctrinating youth. He said that over the past year more than 10 young peoples had left Lunel for Syria to join the Islamic State, and that several had died in Syria or Iraq.
Mr. Cazeneuve said that if those arrested turned out to be part of a jihadist recruitment network, then the police had dismantled a “particularly dangerous and organized cell.” He said that the authorities were mobilized on “all fronts” to defend against terrorism.
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 Lunel, 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 from among 20 youth from Lunel, between the ages of 18 and 30, who had left to fight jihad. 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.
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. Across Europe, countries are struggling to cope with thousands of European citizens who have left to join militant groups in Syria and Iraq, including the Islamic State. The issue is particularly acute in France, where last year more than 1,000 people left or planned to leave to wage jihad, fanning fears that newly radicalized citizens could return to launch attacks in France.
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 arrested was suspected of sending money to help finance militants in Syria.
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.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. Le Figaro, a French newspaper, reported that at least one of those arrested worked at a bar where people smoked hookah pipes. Of the five arrested, at least two had lost brothers who had left for Syria or Iraq to fight jihad, the paper said. It said that at least three of those arrested attended a local mosque.
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. But its former president Lahoucine Goumri has blamed the French government for the surge in jihadist recruitment in Lunel, saying that nobody protested French citizens who traveled to Israel to help the army “kill Palestinian babies.”
Philippe Moissonnier, a Socialist Party member of the local council, 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.“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.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.”“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.”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.”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.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.