France Shuts Down 3 Mosques in Crackdown

Maybe if they had taken these measures earlier…. (AP) —

The latest on the recovery from and investigation into the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. All times local:

2:35 p.m.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says three mosques have been shut down in France since the Paris attacks as part of a crackdown on extremist activities.

Cazeneuve told reporters it was the first time mosques are being closed in France “on grounds of radicalization.”

One of the mosques, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Paris in Lagny-sur-Marne, was targeted by raids early Wednesday, with police seizing a 9mm revolver, a computer hard disc and jihadist propaganda. Cazeneuve said the mosque also had a non-authorized Quranic school.

One person was placed in custody following the raids, with 22 others banned from leaving France. Nine others were put under house arrest.

The two other mosques, in Lyon and Gennevilliers in the Paris region, were shut down last week amid a state of emergency.

Cazeneuve says police have seized 334 weapons since the Nov. 13 attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris.