France, Germany and the Netherlands arrest 10 in terror probe

Paris: Authorities in France, Germany and the Netherlands detained at least 10 people on Friday suspected of helping to fund Al Qaida-linked militants in Uzbekistan, police officials said.

One suspect was detained in Germany, another in the Netherlands, with the rest detained in France, said a senior official who was only authorized to discuss the arrests on condition of anonymity.

The suspects' nationalities were not given but officials said they were Turkic-speaking.

Police suspect they collected funds for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant group said by the United States to have close ties to Al Qaida.

The senior official described the arrests as "preventative" because the funds thought to have been collected were not known to have been used to carry out terror attacks.

The French arrests were made in Mulhouse, near the border with Germany, and in the Rhone region in the south. France's anti-terror agency, known by the initials DST, conducted the French operation.

Suspects' homes were being searched.

The official said at least eight people were arrested in France and that other arrests were possible.