3 suspected Islamist terrorists arrested in France By Al Goodman, CNN March 1, 2013 -- Updated 1541 GMT (2341 HKT) Noyon, 100 kilometers northeast of Paris; Les Lilas, east side of Paris, and Genevieve des Bois, south of Paris. Three suspects are arrested in a joint French-Spanish operation, Spanish officials say The arrests are a follow-up to raids last August in southern Spain Those raids turned up evidence that led to the arrests Madrid (CNN) -- Three suspected Islamist terrorists of Chechen origin were arrested in France this week in a joint French-Spanish operation, Spain's Interior Ministry said Friday. The arrests, made Tuesday in three French locations, were a follow-up to raids last August in southern Spain when police broke up a suspected terrorist cell that planned attacks in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, the ministry statement said. READ: Moroccan suspected of being terrorist arrested in Spain The August 2012 raids, in the town of Linea de la Concepcion, on the Spanish border with the British colony Gibraltar, turned up evidence that the suspected terror cell had links in France and other European countries, the ministry said. That eventually led to the arrests of the suspects Tuesday. They were identified as Ali Dokaev, arrested in Noyon, 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Paris; Elsy Issakov, arrested in Les Lilas on the east side of Paris; and Mourad Idrissov, arrested in Genevieve des Bois, on the south side of Paris, the ministry said.