France arrests Islamist suspects in fresh raids

Police in France have conducted new raids on Islamist suspects in the wake of the multiple killings by gunman Mohamed Merah. At least 10 people were arrested as police conducted operations in Marseille, Roubaix, Carpentras and a number of other locations. Thirteen people arrested in raids last week face terrorism charges. President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to crack down on suspected radical Islamists after the Merah killings. Most of Wednesday's raids were in the south and south-west, notably in Marseille but also in Carpentras, Valence and Pau, police sources told Agence France-Presse news agency. There was also a raid in Roubaix, close to the Belgian border. The operation comes less than a week after raids that targeted men who are believed to be associated with a radical group called Forsane Alizza, which was banned last month. Police have been careful not to link the raids to the killings by Merah in Toulouse and Montauban. The self-confessed al-Qaeda gunman was shot dead by police in Toulouse, following attacks in which he murdered seven people, including three children. After last week's raids, Mr Sarkozy, who faces a presidential election this month, said the crackdown on radical Islamists "would continue and that will allow us to expel from our national territory a certain number of people who have no reason to be here". On Monday, the French interior ministry announced the expulsion of five radical Islamic preachers as part of the crackdown.