October 11, 2001   

NY Times

The assault in Europe on the network believed to be behind the terror attacks in the United States continued today, with the arrest of four people in Italy and Germany and charges brought against four people suspected of being Islamic militants in France. The action came one day after police in Ireland detained four men they suspect of possible links to Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi fugitive who is the prime suspect in the attacks in the United States. The Italian interior minister, Claudio Scajola, announced the detention of three men in Milan who are suspected of recruiting volunteers for terrorist training camps run by Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan. They were identified by news agencies as Lased bin Heni of Libya, and Riyadh Jelassi and Muhammad bin Belgacem Awadi, both of Tunisia.  Mr. Scajola said a fourth individual was detained by the police in Munich, suspected of having cooperated with the group in Milan. No further details were given. The arrests in Milan were made by police officers who raided an apartment in the early morning hours with a warrant to detain five men suspected of working for Mr. bin Laden's network, an Italian official said. Two men for whom warrants were issued were detained and a third was held for possession of false documents. Officials said the three other men who were sought had apparently fled Italy. The group in Milan was working to recruit men for training in Afghanistan, Mr. Scajola told reporters in Rome. He said the group was suspected of being supported by Mr. bin Laden and had been under surveillance for some time. He did not elaborate. The action by the Italian authorities was part of an antiterrorist sweep by a Milan prosecutor, Stefano Dambruoso, that led in April to the arrest of five other men with potential links to Mr. bin Laden. One of the men detained by Mr. Dambruoso in April, Essid Sami ben Khemais, a Tunisian, is suspected by the police in Spain of having met there last year with Mohamed Atta, the hijacker of one plane that rammed the World Trade Center. Mr. Atta traveled to Spain on two occasions before the Sept. 11 attacks, and the Spanish authorities suspect the two men may have met there. Spain, with a sizable North African and Arab population, has been used in the past as a point of entry and a temporary refuge for groups involved in terrorism. Mr. Scajola made his remarks after a meeting in Rome with the Spanish interior minister, Mariano Rajoy. Spanish officials have said Mr. Atta spent two weeks in Spain in July, after arriving there from Florida, though a meeting with Mr. ben Khemais would have had to take place during an earlier visit. The police activities represent a highly visible effort to crack down on Islamic radicals across Europe.

In Ireland, the two men arrested were Zaid Haich, an Algerian, and Abdul Qadir, from Libya, who are suspected of using charitable organizations in Dublin to funnel money to supporters of Mr. bin Laden. The Irish economic boom of recent years has greatly increased the number of people of Arab descent who have come seeking jobs. Two other men, Abrahim Bazir and Muhammad al-Masrati, both of Libyan descent, were also detained. Mr. Bazir is a naturalized citizen of Ireland who has lived there for more than two decades. The Irish police said the four men, all in their 20's and 30's, were suspected of providing money and false documents to Islamic terrorists operating in Europe.

The charges brought in France were the result of activities to prevent violence at a soccer game on Saturday between teams from France and Algeria, a French official said. Acting on information obtained through telephone taps, the French police arrested the men in their homes in Paris suburbs, seizing weapons, ammunition, bulletproof vests and a manual for making explosives, the official said. It was the first time teams from France and Algeria met in soccer since Algeria obtained its independence from the French in 1962. But the game had to be interrupted after large numbers of Algerian fans poured out of the stands and onto the field. The French declined to identify all the men, who were charged with conspiring to carry out terrorist acts. But one is named Nassredine Mamache, who was put on trial last month together with 23 other individuals whom the French charge with supplying weapons to the Armed Islamic Group, radicals who carried out a wave of bombings in Paris in 1995. Prosecutors in that case have accused Mr. Mamache of being a member of an extremist Islamic group, Takfir wal Hijira, a movement with roots in Egypt that is believed to have links to Mr. bin Laden. There appeared to be no direct connection between the French action and the attacks in the United States.

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