Police swoop down on suspects ahead of Cup

PARIS, May 26: Police swooped on suspected Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas in five European countries today in a coordinated exercise two weeks before the start of the World Cup Soccer Championships in France. Police officials in Paris, where the operation was being coordinated, said the raids in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland were intended to head off possible terrorist attacks during the month-long competition unrolling in 10 French cities from June 10.

More than 60 people were detained. "The goal of the operations was to monitor and check out Islamic networks two weeks ahead of the World Cup," Roland Jacquard of the Paris-based International Observatory on Terrorism told Reuters. "The fear is that arms and explosives may have been hidden by members of the armed Islamic group (GIA) in France ahead of the championships," Jacquard said. The GIA is Algeria’s most radical guerrilla organisation.

On France’s roads, meanwhile militant truckers, taking advantage of the impending sportingextravaganza to press their demands for more pay and better working conditions, blocked traffic in 17 separate protests nationwide.