But at least they've started trying to crack down and arrest them.
PARIS —
French authorities arrested four more people Wednesday morning in a round-up of suspected terrorists believed to have been plotting attacks in Iraq.
The arrests followed the detention Monday of six others who authorities believe were preparing assaults on U.S. forces in Iraq (search). It was the first operation of its kind by the French government since reports surfaced last year that French citizens or residents were joining the insurgent ranks.
The justice minister suggested the roundup was timed to allow France's domestic counterterrorism agency, known as the DST, to gather better information.
"The anti-terrorist struggle is a daily war," Justice Minister Dominique Perben, said on France-2 television. "It is a meticulous job to work back up the networks, to draw connections between names, between types of behavior and methods of action."
Under French law, those arrested in the investigation can be held for up to four days before being released or facing preliminary charges.
Perben gave no details about the arrests. But he said France's six magistrates with sweeping powers to combat terrorism "follow step-by-step a certain number of suspects, a certain number of people who are susceptible of being in contact with terrorist groups in France or overseas."
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