PARIS (AFP) — French police on Thursday were holding five men believed to be members of a logistical support cell for the Al-Qaeda's branch in the Maghreb, a source close to the case said.
The five men are part of a group of eight -- six French nationals, an Algerian and a Tunisian -- who were detained early Tuesday in Paris, its outlying areas and in the Rouen region of northwest France.
Three men were released on Wednesday evening and the other five were being held at the headquarters of French intelligence in Levallois-Perret, outside Paris, according to the source.
The arrest of the eight was described by Le Figaro newspaper as "one of the biggest in 2007", capping months of investigation by counter-intelligence DST agents into terrorism-related activities.
The suspects allegedly provided computer material to members of Al-Qaeda's Branch in the Islamic Maghreb (BAQMI), previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).
During raids on their apartments, police found computers and sophisticated telecommunications material that investigators believe was destined for Al-Qaeda operatives in north Africa, Le Figaro reported.
Investigators however don't believe the group was planning any attacks on French soil, the newspaper added.
Al-Qaeda's Branch in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the deadly twin car bombings in Algiers on December 11 that killed 41 people and a series of other attacks in Algeria.
A source told AFP the suspects did not have any "direct or indirect" links to the December 11 attacks.
BAQMI has said it plans to unify the armed Islamist groups in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco as well as emerging groups in countries bordering the Sahara including Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea.
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