France congratulates Pakistan on arrest of al-qaeda suspects

The French government on Tuesday praised Pakistan for the arrest of several suspected members of the radical Al-Qaeda movement who are alleged to have been preparing terrorist attacks against Western targets. "France welcomes the capture in Pakistan September 5 of Yunis Al-Mauritani, a senior leader of Al-Qaeda involved in the preparation of attacks in Europe and the United States," an official statement said. The Foreign Ministry statement also noted that two other members of the "terrorist organization" were detained in the Pakistani operation. Pakistan has been under pressure from Western nations to do more to combat extremist terrorist groups operating on its territory and often co-ordinating with similar groups in Afghanistan. "France encourages Pakistan to energetically pursue its action in the fight against terrorism, a scourge that its population and security forces have too often been victim and which endangers the stability of the Pakistani State," the statement added. "These arrests contribute to weakening Al-Qaeda and to the stability of the region," France said.