Posted on 10/21/2002 4:29:19 PM PDT by knighthawk
PARIS (AP) — Authorities in the south of France have arrested a Tunisian who is allegedly part of a group with links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, officials said Monday.
The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested on Oct. 14 in Marseille — four days after Italian police arrested four alleged accomplices, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
A fifth man was arrested on Oct. 11 on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
The group was based in Italy and provided logistical help to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, ministry officials said.
The suspect arrested in France also allegedly had a role in a foiled 2000 plot to bomb a cathedral in the eastern city of Strasbourg, but officials provided no details.
The ministry denied French news reports that another alleged accomplice evaded arrest in the town of Menton near the Italian border.
The ministry acknowledged that anti-terrorism investigators had tracked a suspect to Menton, but said he left France for the Middle East late last month.
On Sunday, the Journal du Dimanche weekly, citing unidentified investigators, reported that the suspects who were arrested this month were planning an attack in Europe, and that France was the presumed target.
The report said one of the suspects arrested in Italy, Lazher Ben Khalifa, was responsible for buying video cameras to film areas for bombing attacks.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said there was no proof the group was planning an attack in France.
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
Any word of the progress of the trial in Frankfurt of the people involved in this plot?
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