Relative of Charlie Hebdo attacker detained

The brother-in-law of Charlie Hebdo assailant Cherif Kouachi, who along with his brother Said attacked the French satirical magazine's offices in Paris in January 2015, has been placed under arrest.

Mourad Hamyd, 20, is suspected of trying to travel to Syria to join the so-called "Islamic State" (IS), which he has denied.

Hamyd was trying to enter Turkey in July at its border with Bulgaria, and after being rejected entry was detained in Bulgaria. A Paris court then issued a European arrest warrant against him, saying he had repeatedly attempted to join IS militants in Syria. Hamyd, however, states that he intended to enter Turkey for tourist purposes.

Hamyd, who is a French national, was reportedly extradited to Paris' Charles-De-Gaulle airport on August 26.

On suspect list for two years

French police questioned Hamyd following the Charlie Hebdo attacks, in which Cherif Kouachi and his brother Said shot dead 12 people before being shot and killed by police. Hamyd was cleared of having any involvement in the killing spree.

Half a year before the attack carried out by his brother-in-law, he had been suspected of being radicalized by jihadists. According to the Agence France Presse news agency, Hamyd's name has since been featured on a notorious government list of persons considered to have been radicalized, entitled "Fiche S."

ss/jlw (AFP, Reuters, dpa)