The police and army in France have been placed on alert after new evidence emerged that radical Islamists are seeking to infiltrate their ranks. The Times reported that police and army chiefs have placed internal inspection teams on alert, reports the International Business Times.
The concerns were further underlined on Monday (10 January) following the publication of a book called Où Sont Passés Nos Espions? (Where Have Our Spies Gone?), which claims that at least 16 police officers have joined the Islamic State (Isis).
The book by Éric Pelletier and Christophe Dubois also alleged that about a dozen former French soldiers have joined jihadist groups in both Iraq and Syria, according to The Times.
The Direction of Neighbourhood Security in the Paris conurbation internal report, which was leaked to the authors, claimed that 17 low-ranking police officers had broken France's secular principles between 2012 and 2015.
French public officers, including police officers are not allowed to wear veils or any religious symbols while on duty.
Of the 17, one was Jewish and had refused to work on the Sabbath, while the others were Muslims who had displayed signs of Islamic extremism.
The book claims that one female officer refused to observe a minute's silence for the victims of the terror attack on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in 2015.
When asked to explain herself, she replied in an email: "It's Islam which is going to dominate the world." The female officer was sacked in June the same year.
Read more of this report from the International Business Times.