| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Seven Islamic terror suspects arrested |
| 2005-04-14 |
| GERMAN police launched raids across the country and arrested seven people, including two Arab men who investigators believe laundered money for Islamic extremist groups. Police in Brussels also searched two premises in related raids but made no arrests, police said. Police said they searched 30 buildings in Germany and detained seven people, including the two men they believe provided financial support to extremist groups. Four of the five others arrested were being held on suspicion of being in Germany illegally. State prosecutor Martin Hofmann said Egyptian Adbel-Raouf R, 47 and Tunisian Abdellatif T, 43, were accused of money laundering and tax evasion. Laundering can lead to a jail term of up to 10 years. Police said the men had links with Islamist militant groups and that the Egyptian knew some of the September 11, 2001 attackers. The two men, both living legally in Germany since the early 1990s, had each transferred up to 500,000 euro ($A832,154) to extremist Islamic organisations abroad, police said. Germany has stepped up surveillance of suspected militants among its 3 million Muslims since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US. Three of the suicide hijack pilots had been studying in Hamburg. |
| Posted by:tipper |