lucky wilbury
06-16-2004, 01:51 AM
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1087295415144&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037
Weapons seized in Paris terror raids
BY PIERRE-ANTOINE SOUCHARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — French anti-terror police arrested 13 people, including a Muslim prayer leader, and seized weapons in raids today of suspected Islamic militants in the Paris region, police said.
Police said the suspects were thought to have been involved in forging official papers. Blank documents and plastic laminating materials were found in the sweep.
Those taken into custody included an imam, or prayer leader, from the Hauts-de-Seine region and others from the neighbouring Seine-Saint-Denis area, judicial sources said on condition of anonymity. Both areas are home to large communities of Muslims.
At least one pistol was seized in a detainee's home, police and judicial sources said, without indicating whether more weapons were found.
The suspects, aged 25 to 35, were detained in connection with a judicial investigation opened last week, the officials said without elaborating. They all reportedly were from the Salafist movement, which holds to a strict interpretation of Islam.
Under French anti-terror laws, the suspects can be questioned for 96 hours without being charged.
In Spain, authorities also announced progress with anti-terror probes.
Judge Baltasar Garzon said he has completed his investigation of an alleged Al Qaeda cell accused of helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. He did not disclose his findings, but completing the probe could possibly set the stage for a trial.
Garzon has indicted 40 people on terrorism charges, including 10 he accused specifically of helping plan the Sept. 11 attacks.
Meanwhile, one of his colleagues investigating train bombings in Madrid that killed 190 people levelled terrorism charges against three people accused of helping supply dynamite used in the attack, officials said.
A total of 23 people, mostly Moroccans, have now been charged in the March 11 bombings blamed on Islamic militants with possible links to the Al Qaeda terror network.
The three Spaniards charged today with collaborating with a terrorist organization were released but ordered to register their addresses with court officials. Judge Juan del Olmo also barred one of the suspects from travelling outside Spain without his permission.
European authorities have worked together in tracking down those involved in the bombings.
In a co-ordinated strike across Europe, police last week arrested 17 suspected Islamic militants, including a suspected mastermind of the Madrid attacks and alleged members of a suspected cell in Belgium thought to be taking orders from him and planning an attack.
Fifteen people, mostly Palestinian, Jordanian, Moroccan and Egyptian, were arrested in raids on about 10 locations in Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium.
Italian police also picked up two suspects. They included Osman Ahmed, a 33-year-old Egyptian described as the ringleader who allegedly helped plan the Madrid attacks.
Weapons seized in Paris terror raids
BY PIERRE-ANTOINE SOUCHARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — French anti-terror police arrested 13 people, including a Muslim prayer leader, and seized weapons in raids today of suspected Islamic militants in the Paris region, police said.
Police said the suspects were thought to have been involved in forging official papers. Blank documents and plastic laminating materials were found in the sweep.
Those taken into custody included an imam, or prayer leader, from the Hauts-de-Seine region and others from the neighbouring Seine-Saint-Denis area, judicial sources said on condition of anonymity. Both areas are home to large communities of Muslims.
At least one pistol was seized in a detainee's home, police and judicial sources said, without indicating whether more weapons were found.
The suspects, aged 25 to 35, were detained in connection with a judicial investigation opened last week, the officials said without elaborating. They all reportedly were from the Salafist movement, which holds to a strict interpretation of Islam.
Under French anti-terror laws, the suspects can be questioned for 96 hours without being charged.
In Spain, authorities also announced progress with anti-terror probes.
Judge Baltasar Garzon said he has completed his investigation of an alleged Al Qaeda cell accused of helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. He did not disclose his findings, but completing the probe could possibly set the stage for a trial.
Garzon has indicted 40 people on terrorism charges, including 10 he accused specifically of helping plan the Sept. 11 attacks.
Meanwhile, one of his colleagues investigating train bombings in Madrid that killed 190 people levelled terrorism charges against three people accused of helping supply dynamite used in the attack, officials said.
A total of 23 people, mostly Moroccans, have now been charged in the March 11 bombings blamed on Islamic militants with possible links to the Al Qaeda terror network.
The three Spaniards charged today with collaborating with a terrorist organization were released but ordered to register their addresses with court officials. Judge Juan del Olmo also barred one of the suspects from travelling outside Spain without his permission.
European authorities have worked together in tracking down those involved in the bombings.
In a co-ordinated strike across Europe, police last week arrested 17 suspected Islamic militants, including a suspected mastermind of the Madrid attacks and alleged members of a suspected cell in Belgium thought to be taking orders from him and planning an attack.
Fifteen people, mostly Palestinian, Jordanian, Moroccan and Egyptian, were arrested in raids on about 10 locations in Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium.
Italian police also picked up two suspects. They included Osman Ahmed, a 33-year-old Egyptian described as the ringleader who allegedly helped plan the Madrid attacks.