France detains suspect in Syria chemical weapons probe

By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press

LE PECQ, France (AP) — French investigators say they have detained a man suspected of supplying authorities in Syria with materials that can be used in the production of chemical weapons. A French judicial official said Monday that the dual French-Syrian national was arrested in the south of France while vacationing with his family. He is being held on preliminary charges of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. The name of the man and of his company allegedly used in the transport weren’t given. French authorities also didn’t provide details about the materials he is suspected of transporting. International investigators have blamed Syrian government forces for using toxic gas and nerve agents in the country’s decade-long civil war.