Five arrested in France on suspicion of recruiting jihadis

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve Wednesday announced the arrest of five suspected recruiters for jihad in Syria as part of the government's plan against terrorism and recruitment drive for jihad.

French anti-terrorist police unit arrested five people "suspected of having played a very active role in the recruitment and departure of several young women to Syria recent months", Xinhua reported citing the minister.

Weapons and different equipment have been seized during the arrests Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Lyon in southeastern France, he added.

Cazeneuve reiterated "the government's quite strong commitment to fighting relentlessly against jihadi networks".

With the anti-jihadi plan, unveiled April 23, France said it would ban travels to conflict zones where nationals could join fighters and monitor those back home after a stay in Syria to avoid any eventual attack on national security.

Furthermore, the government pledged to boost cyber-security, maintain close contact with jihadis' families and deport immediately foreign nationals involved in jihad cells to curb the alarming number of radicalised national youths that joined fighters in Syria.

About 700 people from France had joined the Syrian civil war, while 285 nationals are still in the war-torn Arabian country.