Suspected Islamic extremist 'had bomb material'

French counterterrorism police found a bomb-making manual at the home of a man detained in a sweep of suspected Islamic militants who allegedly plotted attacks in Paris, a newspaper report said today.

Four people were detained yesterday south of Paris, including two suspected of links to convicted Islamic militant Safe Bourada, who was picked up in another wave of arrests made last week, officials had said. The two are French converts to Islam aged in their 20s.

Investigators found documents showing how to make explosive devices at the home of one of the two suspects, the daily newspaper Le Parisien reported, citing an unidentified source close to the case.

The agents found hunting rifles at the home of the other suspect, who met Bourada while serving time in prison for armed robbery, the newspaper said.

Investigators suspect that Bourada had recruited him to help finance his extremist group, it added.

An investigating magistrate was quoted in the paper as saying that it was not clear whether the suspects were planning to go ahead with an attack.