France seizes passports of suspected jihadists headed for Syria

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Authorities in France seized the passports of six alleged French jihadists who were planning to depart to fight in Syria, the first time this anti-terrorism measure has been used, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday. "We wanted this measure ... because if French people leave to commit actions in Iraq and Syria, upon their return they represent an even greater danger for the national territory and risk committing wide-scale terrorist acts." The government estimates that about 1,400 French citizens have links to recruitment cells for Syria and Iraq, of which about 400 are already fighting alongside militants. Some of the suspected jihadists banned from leaving France on Monday were signaled to authorities through a hot line put in place last year, while others were identified through ongoing investigations, an aide to Cazeneuve told Reuters. France has been on high alert following Islamist attacks in Paris last month that killed 17 people and three gunmen.

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