France Releases 10 Islamists Arrested Wednesday

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French police have released without charge 10 suspected Islamists arrested in pre-dawn raids two days ago, the second such swoop in less than a week, a judicial source said on Friday.

Of 10 alleged extremists arrested Wednesday, four were released on Thursday and the remaining six walked free on Friday, the official said.

Wednesday's raids were carried out in the southern port city of Marseille as well as Roubaix near the Belgian border, and in several other locations in the country's south and southwest.

They came less than a week after 19 alleged Islamists were arrested in similar anti-terrorist swoops on Friday. Prosecutors have announced that they will seek terror charges against 13 of them.

French authorities have vowed a crackdown on Islamist extremists after self-confessed al-Qaida follower Mohamed Merah was shot dead in a police siege following a killing spree in which he murdered seven people.

The killings came just weeks before France's hotly contested presidential election, with security a major campaign theme and President Nicolas Sarkozy closing the gap in opinion polls on his rival, Socialist Francois Hollande.

Sarkozy's camp has been accused by some of its opponents of exploiting fears and stage-managing militant arrests for political gain.

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