Dutch authorities have arrested an alleged accomplice in a plot to channel holy-war fighters to Iraq for suicide attacks against U.S. forces, German officials said Monday. The 32-year-old Iraqi, whose name was not released, had been at large since the arrest of another Iraqi in Munich last Tuesday. He was arrested by Dutch security officials at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport when he attempted to board a plane to Turkey, Munich prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld said.
| I'll bet Turkey was just overjoyed at the thought of him showing up, too... |
The German warrant for his arrest cites charges of forming a criminal organization, he said. Schiphol police spokeswoman Frederique Hermie said the man was arrested Saturday evening. Germany has requested the man’s extradition and he will appear before a judge at the Haarlem District Court Tuesday, she added. The first suspect was arrested on charges of illegally smuggling Iraqis into Germany, but media reports said investigators also believe he belongs to the Islamic extremist group Ansar al-Islam. The group, composed mainly of ethnic Kurds from northern Iraq, is suspected of recruiting holy warriors for suicide missions in Iraq. U.S. officials believe it has links to al-Qaida.
| The ethnic Kurds are the crowd that Zarqawi and his Jordanians, Palestinians, and other Arabs aren't supposed to stand out in. Kurds aren't Arabs. Except for the goofs who join outfits like Ansar, they don't even particularly like Arabs... |
The arrests follow the capture of suspects in Germany and Italy last month. Among them was Abderrazak Mahdjoub, an Algerian believed to have links to al-Qaida who was arrested on an Italian warrant in Hamburg. The Italian government said the arrests grew out of an investigation of a ring suspected of seeking recruits for a training camp run by Ansar al-Islam. Mahdjoub is suspected of being the ringleader. |