Paris: The French police has killed one man and taken at least seven others into custody in what government officials described as a ‘jihadist network’ that allegedly wanted to attack a Jewish grocery store last month.
Police swept across France, from the northeastern city of Strasbourg to the Mediterranean city of Cannes, as part of the raids, in which a number of weapons, more than €27,000 in cash and a list of Israeli groups in the Paris area, Paris prosecutor François Molins said at a news conference.
According to the Wall Street Journal, officials did not name those in custody, but identified the man who was killed, in Strasbourg, as 33-year-old Jérémie Sidney.
The raids stemmed from a grenade attack on September 19 against a Jewish grocery story outside Paris in which one person was mildly injured, officials said. Following that attack, police found DNA matching Sidney's on remains of the grenade. Further investigation turned up the network that was in close contact with Sidney, officials added.
"All of these people, born in France and with French nationality, are linked with the radical Islamist movement," Molins said, describing them as ‘a network’.
Evidence found in the raids included a printed al Qaeda publication, computer equipment, and multiple testaments specifying their final wishes, Molins said. He declined to provide further details about the links or what information led authorities to believe the individuals have ties to the jihadist movement.
The roundup marks the first major coordinated raids against suspected Islamic radicals since March and April, when police arrested a slew of alleged members of Islamist community groups in a nationwide sweep.
ANI
First Published: Sunday, October 07, 2012, 20:01