Four people, including two "main targets", were arrested Monday in anti-terrorist raids led by the French domestic intelligence service DST in the suburbs of Montargis, some 100 km south of Paris, French police said.

The two main targets, who are two Frenchmen converts to Islam, aged between 25 and 30 years and have been under surveillance for two years, were identified and picked up by the police.

They are linked with Safe Bourrada, major suspect detained last Monday in another raid in west of Paris.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that Monday's arrests were part of a continuing investigation.

"These are long term inquiries because a certain number of individuals have been under surveillance for months, even years, and at the moment the specialist services judge it necessary, arrests take place," he told the RTL radio.

Nine people were detained in anti-terrorist raids on last Monday and of whom five were later released. The remaining four, including Bourrada, were placed under formal investigation for " criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise.

Source: Xinhua