Geneva (AFP) - Swiss authorities on Saturday said two Syrians had been arrested in Geneva after traces of explosives were found in their car, as police continued to hunt for several suspected jihadists with links to the Islamic State group. 
 
 Geneva prosecutor Olivier Jornot told a news conference that the two men had Syrian passports and only "recently arrived" in Switzerland. They spoke Arabic, he added. 
 
 They were arrested after police were alerted about "their behaviour". 
 
 He sidestepped questions on whether the pair were on visas allowing them to circulate freely through the visa-free Schengen zone. 
 
 But Jornot said they were not among the four men being searched as suspected jihadists planning attacks following the Paris carnage on November 13 and whose photographs have been released by the police. 
 
 Jornot said the two arrested men said they had recently bought the car they were travelling in and clarified that it only bore traces of explosives and not toxic gases. 
 
 View gallery Geneva's attorney general Olivier Jornot speaks during a press conference on December 12, 2015 ( … 
 
 He said they were arrested on the day they arrived in Switzerland. 
 
 The federal prosecutor's office had said in a statement earlier Saturday that the two men were arrested on suspicion of the "manufacture, concealment and transport of explosives and toxic gases" and of violating Swiss law prohibiting "groups like Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and similar organisations". 
 
 Jornot later clarified that "the vehicle was at one point used to transport explosives" but that it did not necessarily mean it was the two suspects who did so. 
 
 The arrests come with the city on edge after Swiss authorities on Thursday opened a probe relating to a "terrorist threat in the Geneva region", prompting the region to raise its alert level to three on a five-point scale. 
 
 Armed police were deployed at sensitive locations across Geneva, which borders France and is home to the United Nations' European headquarters. 
 
 The Le Temps daily on Friday cited an unnamed source close to the case as saying the Swiss had received a tip-off from US intelligence about a jihadist cell in Geneva. 
 
 Pictures of four individuals suspected of links to the Islamic State group, which claimed last month's Paris attacks, were published by media across the country. 
 
 Authorities in Geneva had said that the search for possible extremists was being conducted "in the context of the investigation following the Paris attacks". 
 
 But multiple sources, who requested anonymity, said there did not appear to be a direct link with the coordinated November 13 gun and suicide bombing attacks that left 130 dead in the French capital. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption With Geneva on high alert, the city's airport was evacuated after a suspect package was found 
 
 Two people of Syrian origin have been arrested in Geneva on suspicion of making, concealing and transporting explosives, the Swiss attorney general says. 
 
 The two are also suspected of violating a law prohibiting groups such as al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State (IS), the statement added. 
 
 Geneva's prosecutor said traces of explosive had been found in their car. 
 
 Geneva has been on high alert this week amid fears an IS cell was in the area. 
 
 Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga said on Friday that a "foreign authority" had provided the information about "a potential IS cell in the Geneva area" but there was no indication that "a concrete attack" was planned. 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Checks have been increased on the French-Swiss border near Geneva 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Security was tightened outside France's consulate in Geneva 
 
 Geneva's Prosecutor Olivier Jornot told a news conference that the two Syrians had just arrived in the Swiss city and could not speak French when they were arrested on Friday. 
 
 They "were stopped by Geneva police... because of the increased vigilance required from the police force," he said. "These people, because of their behaviour and nationality, were subject to more careful checks, and these checks revealed traces of explosives in the car they were using." 
 
 He confirmed no evidence of toxic gas was found. 
 
 An earlier statement from the prosecutor's office said criminal proceedings had been opened against them under Switzerland's law against the manufacture and transport of explosives and toxic gases. 
 
 The tip-off about a terror cell in Geneva had originally come from the United States, Swiss media reported on Friday. 
 
 Daily newspaper Le Temps, quoting a source close to the investigation, said US intelligence had identified three jihadist cells in Chicago, Toronto and Geneva. 
 
 On Thursday, security was stepped up outside synagogues, the UN building and the French ambassador's home, as well as train stations, the airport and similar places. 
 
 The number of police on Geneva's streets has been increased. 
 
 UN spokesman Michele Zaccheo said there was "no specific threat to the UN in Geneva or its personnel". 
 
 The border with France runs through the outskirts of Geneva. 
 
 IS said it carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November which killed 130 people. 
 
 Two men linked to the attacks - Salah Abdeslam and Mohammed Abrini - are still on the run and investigations have been launched in several European countries.
– Two people from Syria were arrested on terror charges Friday in Geneva and traces of explosives were found in their vehicle, AFP reports. The arrests come after Swiss authorities received a tip from US intelligence that indicated an ISIS cell was active in Geneva, according to the BBC. ABC News reports Geneva raised its terror threat level Thursday in response to the tip. According to AFP, the arrested men have been accused of the "manufacture, concealment, and transport of explosives and toxic gases" and of supporting "groups like Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and similar organizations." The arrests were announced as part of a "terror probe" by Swiss authorities Saturday, AFP reports. Police have been deployed around Geneva as the city remains on alert. In addition to being the UN's European headquarters, many international organizations active in Syria—including the International Organization for Migration and UN High Commissioner for Refugees—are also based in Geneva, according to ABC. The BBC reports the same source who claims US intelligence found an active ISIS cell in Geneva also states two more were identified in Chicago and Toronto.