1st LD: Three arrested in France on terrorism charges: reports

Three men were detained on Tuesday morning in France on the charges of planning a terrorist attack, according to local report.

Citing a source close to the operation, AFP reported the anti-terrorist police arrested the three suspects respectively in Clermont-Ferrand, central France, in the southern city of Marseille and in Paris suburbs.

"The suspects had a plan and it was sufficiently advanced that counter-terror police decided to intervene," a source was quoted as saying.

The suspects "have been arrested as part of a preliminary investigation started in January on suspicion of leaving for Syria or committing an act in France," the report added.

According to the news channel BFMTV, the three men were believed to have connection with Rashid Kaseem, a French extremist in Syria.

The man, killed during an American strike earlier this month, had used encrypted messaging service to call for more assaults in France.

On Feb. 10, French police foiled "an imminent" terrorist plot after arresting four suspects in the southern town of Montpellier, including a minor on charges of planning "violent action."

Risks of terror attacks remain high in France where a "state of emergency" has been declared after about 130 people were killed in a series of explosions and shootings on Nov.13, 2015.

In 2016,the police foiled 17 terror attacks, according to official data. Endit