PARIS - French authorities have detained seven suspected Islamic militants who allegedly trained to fight in Iraq by firing weapons in the woods of eastern France, police officials said Friday.
Six of the men are French nationals of Bosnian origin, and the seventh is Algerian, the officials said. The men, ranging in age from early 20s to mid-40s, were arrested on Tuesday in the towns of Besancon and Pontarlier in eastern France. At least one was a student; another is a teacher.
Police and anti-terror investigators say anger over the Iraq war has radicalized some young Muslims in France, which has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated at 5 million.
Judicial authorities believe dozens of youths, some just young teens, have left from France for Iraq to join the insurgency. Some have been killed there. Police are particularly worried that some French youths with roots in North Africa may be traveling to Iraq, without being noticed, traveling via countries including Algeria and Morocco.
French counterterrorism officials worry that such militants could return home with skills learned in combat and a desire to carry out terror attacks in France — even though the country opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has ruled out sending troops to help U.S. forces battling insurgents there.
Last month, French authorities arrested seven suspects, most of them near the southern city of Toulouse, in an investigation of an alleged al-Qaida-linked network recruiting Islamic fighters for Iraq.
Prosecutors alleged that the recruits were sent first to Egypt to learn Islamic teachings and Arabic "in the most radical schools." Via a cell in Saudi Arabia and linked to al-Qaida, the recruits were then put in touch with a network in Syria that took them to Iraq to allegedly commit terrorist acts, notably suicide attacks.
Police officials said the suspects arrested in eastern France this week had not made definite travel plans for Iraq but were training to fight there.
Police raids of the suspects' homes turned up munitions, handguns and pump and automatic rifles, officials said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
The case was expected to be transferred to Paris anti-terrorism judges, the officials said.
Prosecutors were expected to file preliminary charges for criminal association with a terror group, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
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