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French security force arrests five on Jihad charges

Xinhua, January 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

The French Police Nationale RAID and National Police Intervention Group (GIPN) special forces on Tuesday arrested five men in Lunel in southern France, in an anti-Jihad operation, local media reported.

The suspected Jihadists were placed into custody on suspicion of having links with people already travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside Islamist fighters, the news channel BFMTV said.

According to the report, dozens of Lunel residents have sought to join insurgents in Syria.

Fearing hundreds of nationals could return home to carry out attacks after being trained in Syria, the government reinforced measures to crack down on radicalized men and stem the flow of youth recruited to fight in the Arab country.

The government's anti-Jihad bill allows authorities to ban French nationals suspected of having ties with a Jihadist cells from leaving the country for an indefinite period.

Moreover, the bill gives the green light, without a judge's approval, to block websites that encourage jihad.

Official data showed that more than 900 French nationals and residents either joined the Syrian civil war or planned to travel to the conflict-torn country. Endi