1 dead, 7 arrested in French anti-terror sweep

French police officers stand guard at a building entrance in Strasbourg, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, where a suspect was shot dead after firing at police. French anti-terrorism forces carried out raids in cities nationwide on Saturday. / AP Photo/Jean Francois Badias

PARIS French anti-terrorism forces investigating the firebombing of a kosher grocery store carried out raids in cities nationwide on Saturday, and one suspect was killed in a shootout, officials said.

At least seven people were arrested, according to a government statement.

Police union official Mohamed Douhane told the television network BFM that a suspect in the eastern city of Strasbourg opened fire when police arrived and they returned fire, killing him. He said no officers were badly hurt, thanks to bulletproof vests.

He said several cities, including in the south of France and in Paris, were involved in the raids.

A statement from President Francois Hollande confirmed seven arrests and said the state would continue to "protect the French against all terrorist threats."

The firebombing of the grocery, in a Jewish neighborhood outside Paris, happened on the same day that a French satirical paper published crude caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, and while anti-Western protests were growing against an anti-Islam film. One person was slightly injured, but the attack came after a summer of what residents described as growing anti-Semitic threats.