French police have arrested 11 people, including nine suspected of having links with al-Qaeda, as part of an anti-terrorist operation targeting networks recruiting fighters for Iraq, the Interior Ministry said.
Nine of the arrests were made this morning.
The Interior Ministry said the nine were "suspected of being in liaison with the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation".
"These individuals who come from the south west of France, are being formally investigation for organising a network moving jihadists towards Iraq," the statement said.
The other two were arrested at the capital's Orly airport yesterday after returning from abroad.
A police official said earlier that several of the suspects had arrived from Syria and four women were among those detained.
"These arrests follow a long inquiry led by the French services ... which had been following their movements for several months," the statement said.