3 held in French anti-terrorism raids; bomb squad deployed

PARIS – Three men were arrested Tuesday in widely spread anti-terrorism raids, French officials said, and a bomb squad deployed at the home of one of the men uncovered a training grenade.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation, said the arrests came in central Clermont-Ferrand, southern Marseille and the Paris region. The bomb squad was dispatched to Clermont-Ferrand, and one of the officials said a training grenade — one that was not equipped to explode — was discovered at the home of one of the men, who had been previously flagged as an extremist.

Tuesday’s arrests come less than two weeks after anti-terrorism forces detained an adolescent girl and three men, and uncovered what they described as a makeshift explosives lab.