France nets 3 with 'indirect links' to al-Zarqawi

updated 5:05 a.m. ET Dec. 15, 2005

PARIS - French counterterrorism agents on Thursday arrested three people suspected of belonging to a terror group with “indirect links” to al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a police spokeswoman said.

The roundup near Paris came in connection with a similar sweep Monday near the capital and in the northern Oise region which netted 25 suspects, said national police spokeswoman Catherine Casteran.

The three were believed to be part of a terror ring with “indirect links” to al-Zarqawi, she said.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking in parliament on Wednesday, described a web of links between the alleged network in France — which police say included both Islamic militants and common criminals — and other terror cells and groups, including al-Zarqawi’s.

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