French police made 23 arrests and seized assault rifles and drugs in a nationwide overnight sweep on suspected Islamist militants following Friday’s attacks, the government said yesterday.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 168 homes were raided in France’s major cities and elsewhere, and 104 people had been put under house arrest in the last 48 hours.
Police seized 31 firearms as well as computer hard drives and telephones, and illegal drugs were found in 18 of the raids, Mr Cazeneuve told journalists.
One Islamist militant suspected of arms and drugs dealing was found to have Kalashnikov assault rifles, automatic handguns and bullet proof vests.
In one raid on the house of the parents of a suspect, police found military fatigues and a rocket launcher in addition to more bullet proof vests and automatic handguns.
“We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on RTL radio. Mr Cazeneuve said police were making rapid progress in their investigation into a wave of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris which left 129 people dead.
Kalashnikov assault rifles, automatic handguns, bullet proof vests, military fatigues and rocket launcher among items found during raids
“We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement ... and all those who advocate hate of the republic,” Mr Valls said.
Meanwhile the United States will make it easier to share planning information and intelligence with France after the Paris attacks, the Pentagon said yesterday.
“In the wake of the recent attack on France, we stand strong and firm with our oldest ally, which is why the US and France have decided to bolster our intelligence sharing,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have issued new instructions to US military personnel to allow greater intelligence sharing, the Pentagon said. France is a member of the US-led coalition waging air strikes in Syria and Iraq against Islamic State.
Earlier yesterday, President Barack Obama told a G20 summit in Turkey that: “France is already a strong counterterrorism partner, and today we’re announcing a new agreement. We’re streamlining the process by which we share intelligence and operational military information with France. This will allow our personnel to pass threat information, including on Isil, to our French partners even more quickly and more often.”