French authorities have laid preliminary charges against five men suspected of involvement in a jihadi recruiting network in a small southern town from where several youths went to fight in Syria and Iraq.
Spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre of the Paris prosecutor's office today said that the men, aged 26 to 44, face preliminary charges of criminal association involving a plot to carry out terrorist acts. They remain in custody.
The ruling comes after three days of police questioning of the five after security forces detained them in connection with the network in southern Lunel.
Authorities say at least six people from the town died in Iraq and Syria in recent months.
Authorities haven't indicated they believe there is any connection between the suspects and the Paris terror attacks this month.
