Police raid Muslim club in counter-terror swoop in N. France

French police raided the premises of a Muslim club before dawn on Tuesday as well as the homes of members of the club, Reuters reports. The raid was prompted by serious suspicions of pro-Islamist militancy, according to the local government prefect’s office. The operation involved some two hundred police and began around 6am. It targeted the Centre Zahra France club and 12 of its members in an area called Grande Synthe, near Dunkirk and not far from Calais on the northern coast. “The activities of Centre Zahra France are under particularly close watch given its leaders’ clear support for several terrorist organizations and movements espousing ideas contrary to [French] republican values,” said the prefect’s office. France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim community, remains on maximum security alert after attacks over recent years.