Suspects confess to terror links, says Yemen

The Age ^ | 11/15/06

[Valin]

Seven suspects, including two Australian sons of a Jemaah Islamiah leader, have confessed to involvement in smuggling weapons to Somalia and collecting money for terrorist attacks, Yemeni officials say. The group includes Sydney men Abdullah Ayub, 19, Mohammed Ayub, 21, and Marek Samulski, 35. The Ayub brothers are sons of JI leader Abdul Rahim Ayub, who fled Australia after the Bali bombings. Investigators have linked them to a member of an alleged Sydney terrorist cell who was arrested and charged a year ago.

The men, along with a Briton, a Dane, a Somali and another suspect, allegedly acknowledged during interrogation that they were involved in smuggling weapons to Somalia and collecting money to fund terror attacks, a security official said. He said the suspects also confessed to having connections with Yemenis linked to the al-Qaeda terror network.

The Ayub brothers' Sydney lawyer, Adam Houda, said his clients had not confessed. "I don't know what they're going to be charged with or if they're going to be charged at all," he said last night. "I don't know anything yet, I have to find out. I'm waiting for a call." Mr Houda has previously described allegations that the brothers were involved in smuggling arms or linked to al-Qaeda as ridiculous.

The seven men are expected to stand trial in Yemen, Interior Minister Rashad al-Alimi said on Monday. Other officials said a search of the Dane's house found documents and reports linked to al-Qaeda and thousands of US dollars and euros. The arrests are part of a state security campaign launched last month against members of an al-Qaeda cell. The security official said among more than 12 suspected militants arrested in the campaign, six were believed to be linked to the Sanaa cell. One of the detainees allegedly confessed that he was assigned to carry out an attack with an explosive-laden car on Sanaa international airport, the security official said.