 Russian law enforcement officials have detained the leader of a terrorist cell from the international Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which intelligence has linked to Al Qaeda. Alisher Usmanov, who headed a cell in central Russia's Tatarstan, was arrested Wednesday, carrying explosives and Al Qaeda training manuals and flyers, the Lenta.ru news site reported, citing police sources in the republic. The explosives indicate that the man, who was already suspected of organizing a number of terrorist attacks, including a deadly blast in Uzbekistan last March, was planning yet another attack, Interior Ministry officials told the Russian Information Agency Novosti. Earlier, four other members of the cell were arrested in the region. Usmanov allegedly formed the cell of the Hizb ut-Tahrir group, which is banned in many countries, in 1996. He was on the international wanted list. |