WORLD BRIEFS

SYRIA: Troops said to withdraw

A government official said troops began pulling out Tuesday from some cities a week ahead of a deadline to implement an international cease-fire plan. The claim could not be verified and activists near Damascus said no troops were leaving their area. "Forces began withdrawing to outside calm cities and are returning to their bases, while in tense areas, they are pulling out to the outskirts," the official told The Associated Press. President Bashar Assad agreed just days ago to an April 10 deadline to implement international envoy Kofi Annan's truce plan. Khaled al-Omar, an activist in the Damascus suburb of Saqba, said no withdrawal was going on there.

FRANCE: Sweep against 13 Islamists

Preliminary charges were being filed against 13 Islamist radicals, a prosecutor announced Tuesday, saying some had been calling for Shariah law in the country, stashing weapons and hatching plots, one to kidnap a judge. Prosecutor François Molins said members of the Forsane Alizza, or Knights of Pride, received physical training in parks and forests around Paris and religious indoctrination "in order to take part in a jihad," or holy war. The group preached hate and violence on their Internet site which "called for the application of Shariah and incited Muslims to unite to prepare for civil war," Molins said. The site was shut down after Forsane Alizza was banned in March. The charges come amid a crackdown following the killing spree in southern France by a 23-year-old claiming links to al-Qaida. Mohamed Merah was killed after a 32-hour standoff with police.

RUSSIA: Icing and pilot error blamed

A plane crash that killed 31 people Monday was probably caused by a combination of pilot error and fuselage icing, local media reported Tuesday. The 28-year-old pilot of a Utair airline ATR-72 decided against having the aircraft treated with de-icing fluids prior to flight, despite near-freezing temperatures, said Vladimir Polyakov, airport chief in Tyumen, the newspaper Kommersant said.