Amedy Coulibaly hadn't been to Syria, but had links to known extremists
Amedy Coulibaly hadn't been to Syria, but had links to known extremistsScreenshot/Youtube

Four people have been detained over their connections to one of the Islamist terrorists who carried out the Paris attacks in January, a judicial source said on Monday.

The four are said to be friends with Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people at a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman during the January 7-9 attacks.  

Europe 1 radio reported that one of those detained was a policewoman posted at Rosny-sous-Bois just outside Paris who converted to Islam two years ago. She was suspended from her duties in early February.  

She was detained along with her boyfriend, a man said to have been close to Coulibaly and who is also wanted on separate drug charges.  

Phone records indicate he was in close proximity to Coulibaly shortly before the attack on the supermarket.

Le Canard Enchaine, a weekly paper, said the man may have had access to his girlfriend's police barracks at Rosny.    

No details have yet been released on the other two people detained.  

Four other people were held for questioning at the end of January, suspected of providing arms and vehicles to Coulibaly.  

Others - including Coulibaly's girlfriend Hayat Boumeddiene - are thought to have fled to Syria.

Two people have also been charged over their links to the Kouachi brothers who carried out the shootings at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in the same week, leaving 12 dead.

Fritz-Joly Joachin was arrested in Bulgaria and Cheikhou Diakhaby was detained in Turkey - both believed to be on route to Syria, and extradited back to France.

AFP contributed to this report.