Anti-terror police in France have arrested around ten people accused of recruiting young people to travel to Syria to fight alongside Islamic extremists.

Most were detained in early morning operation around the southern town of Toulouse but there were also arrests in the northwestern port of Le Havre as well as in Paris.

Police said they had been working for up to two years to counter what the French Prime Minister Michael Valls called an “unrivalled threat”.

One of those detained is the alleged leader of the presumed jihadist network.

The investigation also targeted four people already in prison according to police.

Authorities say over 1100 French nationals have been linked to fighting in Syria or Iraq – more than any other Western country.

That number includes those currently in the region, those in transit and those who have returned.