Several people arrested in anti-terrorism operations following Paris attacks

Several people have been arrested during multiple counterterrorism operations that took place between Sunday night and dawn on Monday in different parts of France, following Friday’s attacks in Paris which left over 100 people dead, according to a statement issued by the security forces.

BFMTV channel said that investigators targeted dozens of people during these operations, which occurred in the cities of Grenoble in the east, Toulouse in the south, Jeumont in the north, and Bobigny, a town on the outskirts of Paris.

The security campaign in Bobigny was directly related to the terror attacks in Paris, France Info radio station said, awaiting the results.

In Grenoble, six people were arrested, BFMTV added, noting that weapons were also confiscated.

Security forces halted at least three people in Toulouse, where Mohamed Merah, a FrenchAlgerian terrorist who masterminded several massacres in the region in March 2012, was originally from.

About 200 agents participated in the operations in Toulouse, which lasted three hours and were not related to the wave of terrorist attacks in Paris.

The French government announced a state of emergency from Friday night to Saturday, allowing police to skip some legal processes that would have slowed down the searches of the homes of suspects.

An arrest warrant was issued on Sunday by France and Belgium against 26yearold Belgiumborn Salah Abdeslam, suspected to be involved in the Paris attacks.

Abdeslam rented the vehicle from which the terrorists attacked the Bataclan Concert Hall.