They were planning terror attacks on Paris

Maybe some will get it now.

I know, I know, eventhough we're not in Iraq, they're plotting against us. How ungrateful!

Armed French anti-terrorist police detained nine Islamic militants on Monday suspected of plotting terror attacks in France, a judicial source said.

The suspects, arrested in dawn raids in the Yvelines and Eure regions outside Paris, came as Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy was to unveil tough new anti-terror laws designed as France's response to July 7 bomb attacks in London.

The suspects are believed linked to the armed Algerian group GSPC, a radical group allied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The suspects were taken to the headquarters of the DST domestic intelligence agency for questioning. Police can hold them for four days before bringing them before a magistrate who can place them under formal investigation.

Security officials believe France could be the target of attacks by Islamic militants despite its outspoken opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

France shares intelligence with the United States and Britain, Washington's main military ally in Iraq, and has troops taking part in the international force backing Afghanistan's fragile government.

French anti-terrorism officials have become increasingly concerned over the past year at the number of its nationals travelling to Iraq to fight international troops supporting the U.S.-installed government.

The DST says six French nationals have been killed fighting in Iraq since 2003 and around 10 others are believed to be currently fighting alongside rebels. A number of would-be fighters have also been detained en route by Syria.

French officials say the Iraq veterans could pose a threat to domestic security once they return home.

France is to step up its anti-terror arsenal, with Sarkozy to reveal tougher laws later on Monday in response to the July London bomb attacks which killed more than 50 people.

Measures include increased use of CCTV surveillance cameras and a law to force Internet cafes and mobile phone operators to keep connection records, probably for 12 months.

The mobile phone and internet measures will be covered by a three-year time limit, the Le Figaro newspaper reported, and will need parliamentary approval in 2008 to stay in force. Separately, the Justice Ministry wants to toughen jail sentences for those convicted of playing secondary roles in terrorist plots.