Al-Qaeda-linked cell arrested in France: report

France's DST counter-espionage agency arrests eight men suspected of links with Al-Qaeda's Branch in in Paris.

France's DST counter-espionage agency has arrested eight men suspected of links with Al-Qaeda's Branch in the Islamic Maghreb in the Paris region and the northern city of Rouen, the daily Le Figaro reported on Thursday.

HT Image

It said the seven Algerians and one Frenchman were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of providing computer and telecommunications material to members of Al-Qaeda's Branch in the Islamic Maghreb (BAQMI), previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

The newspaper said investigators don't believe the group was planning any attacks on French soil. It said the group, initially being held for 96 hours, had already been known to authorities and had been under surveillance.

Al-Qaeda's Branch in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the deadly twin car bombings in the Algerian capital on December 11 that killed 41 people and a series of other attacks in Algeria.