5 Chechens arrested in France, including 1 with explosives

PARIS (AP) - Five ethnic Chechens from Russia have been arrested in southern France, including one with a cache of explosives, a local mayor said Tuesday as four other men appeared at a court in Paris, the first to face charges in the Paris terror attacks.

Beziers Mayor Robert Menard confirmed the five arrests Tuesday in Beziers and on the outskirts of Montpellier. He said the man arrested in Beziers had been a resident “for some time.”

Midi Libre, the local paper, said an explosives cache was found in Beziers near a stadium but prosecutor Yvon Calvet told Midi Libre it wasn’t immediately clear whether a terror attack was planned. Prosecutors planned to hold a news conference later Tuesday in Beziers.