France holds six in suspected terrorism ring: interior minister

PARIS (Reuters) - Six individuals suspected of belonging to a terrorist network were arrested in southern France on Sunday, the French interior minister said. In a short statement, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said police arrested the suspects early on Sunday morning in the Toulouse and Albi regions. It gave no further details. France is on high alert one month after the Islamist attacks in Paris, in which 17 people were killed. Police are struggling to monitor an estimated 1,200 radical Islamists and some 200 people who have returned from fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq. The arrests come five days after police broke up another suspected terrorism ring north of Paris in Saint-Seine-Denis and in the Lyon area, arresting eight people. On Saturday, investigating magistrates put five individuals in that case under formal investigation, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; editing by Mark John)