 French intelligence agents on Tuesday detained two suspected Islamic radicals in connection with an investigation into groups that were allegedly planning attacks in France, sources close to the probe said. The two men - one Algerian, the other French - were placed in preventive detention in the central-eastern city of Lyon, the sources said. Their identities were not immediately revealed. France set up an inquiry in November 2002 to investigate groups suspected of recruiting fighters to take part in the war in Chechnya between separatist rebels and the Russian army. In the course of that investigation, police uncovered an underground group apparently composed of Islamic radicals in a Paris suburb. Authorities believe members of that group were planning attacks on French soil in 2002. A suspected militant told investigators that the Eiffel Tower, Israeli interests in the French capital, police stations and a major clothing retailer in the downtown Les Halles shopping complex were all possible targets. |