PARIS, March 9: French Justice Minister Marylise Lebranchu said on Saturday that the French government had decided to try on French soil the seven French citizens accused by Washington of being Taliban.

Four of the men are reported to be detained at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while the other three are being held by US special forces in Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Mrs Lebranchu opened an inquiry into allegations of terrorism against the seven men _ the first step in an official procedure which, she hopes, will result in their eventual extradition to France, where they will be tried under charges of “criminal conspiracy to undertake terrorist acts”.

The decision to set in motion the judicial procedure was taken, said the source, after several weeks of negotiations between the United States and representatives of France and the European Union, 15 of the more than 300 prisoners at Guantanamo reportedly being nationals of a handful of the 15 member countries of the EU.