French Muslim airport workers suspended

PARIS, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A French government security official has said 72 suspect Muslim airport workers have lost security clearance, but many others still work in sensitive areas.

Some suspended workers, all of which were at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, have filed suit claiming they were unfairly targeted, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday.

A security official involved with the case said many of the suspended workers are suspected of having received terrorist training in Pakistan and Afghanistan and one was friends with a "shoe bomber."

Many suspects remain employed in areas of the airport requiring high security clearance, the official said. He said some are involved with cleaning planes and handling baggage bound for the United States.

French Muslim Hassane Tariqui, who supervises cleaning inside Air France, Delta, Continental and American Airlines passenger planes, said he received a letter from French authorities saying his attitude and personal behavior were regarded as a risk to airport security. However, he was not suspended. Labor unions said 90 Muslim workers at the airport had received identical letters since April.