U.S. troops in Iraq have detained three French militants and police here rounded up 10 of their comrades from a group that sent raw youths from Europe to take part in the conflict with America, officials said Friday. The first confirmed capture of European Islamist fighters turns attention on the increasing movement of militants from countries such as Italy, Germany, France and Belgium to Iraq, European officials say. Several of the recruits reportedly have died in Iraq, but investigators were unaware Friday of any being held by U.S. forces other than the three Frenchmen.The makeup of the group illustrates the evolving profile and speedy radicalization of Iraq-bound extremists, authorities said. "This is a new and spontaneous generation," said an official in the French Interior Ministry. Unlike previous militants, they had never been to Afghanistan or Bosnia, considered traditional training grounds for Muslim extremists.
Although the case was first reported Friday by French media, U.S. troops captured two of the Frenchmen in the battle to retake Fallouja in November, the official said. A third man was captured in Mosul, he said. U.S. military sources confirmed that they were holding three French nationals in Camp Bucca, a detention facility in southern Iraq. The suspects from Paris are a mixed group with Arab, African and French origins, officials say. Only their 23-year-old leader, Farid Benyettou, has previous ties to extremist networks, officials and a defense lawyer said. Group members financed their journeys themselves and hoped to join Abu Musab Zarqawi because they had heard about him on television, officials said.