'Radicals' arrested near Paris over poison gas attack plot

Four alleged Islamic radicals arrested in France and linked to a British terror suspect had possession of a mysterious liquid and an anti-contamination suit, France's Interior Minister said yesterday.

Nicolas Sarkozy said the four – three Algerians and a Moroccan – had been in contact with Rabah Kadre, who was arrested in Britain with two other suspects last month on charges related to terrorism.

Mr Sarkozy indicated that they were planning an attack, saying that "with these four individuals, it was better to arrest them before rather than after". He did not elaborate.

French counterterrorism agents arrested the suspects in a Paris suburb on Monday. Initially, French judicial officials said that only three people had been arrested. Later, they said that one was a woman, the companion of one of the men.

Agents also seized $5,000 (about £3,000) in cash, a computer and extremist Islamic documents when they arrested the four in the suburb of La Courneuve, the judicial officials said. Mr Sarkozy said the apartment raided also turned up false identity papers, two vials of an undetermined liquid and "a protective military suit against biological, chemical and nuclear risks". Specialists were studying the vials' contents, he said.

The minister said the suspects were thought to have spent time in training camps in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Earlier, he said the arrests were very important. "With people who have this type of material, it's obvious we did the right thing in arresting them."

The suspects were preparing a chemical attack, according to radio and television reports and the daily newspaper Le Parisien, which quoted unidentified police officials and agents from the counterintelligence service DST. The chemicals could be used to pollute public drinking water systems, the reports said.