President Nicolas Sarkozy said that police in cities around France have detained 19 people in a crackdown on suspected Islamist extremists, AP reported. Sarkozy said on Europe-1 radio Friday that weapons were seized in some of the raids, including AK-47 assault rifles. He said more such operations are planned. The raids come after a spate of killings in southern France. A Frenchman who espoused radical Islamist views and said he had links to al Qaida claimed responsibility for the killings. He was killed in a gunfight with police last week.
