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HONG KONG, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Three men have been arrested in Hong Kong over an alleged attempt to buy four Stinger anti-aircraft missiles for al Qaeda from undercover U.S. FBI officers, the Hong Kong government said on Tuesday. The three, two Pakistanis and a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, appeared in a Hong Kong court on Tuesday to fight an extradition request from the United States. They were arrested on September 20 for trying to sell 600 kg of heroin and five tonnes of hashish to fund the purchase of the missile, the Hong Kong government said in a statement. "Based on remarks made to the FBI agents, it is believed that the defendants intended to deliver the Stinger missile systems to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, namely the al Qaeda," the statement said. The three have been remanded in custody until November 15 pending further information from Washington, the government said. A U.S. court issued a warrant for the arrest of Syed Mustajab Shah, Muhammed Abid Afridi and Ilyas Ali on September 17, the statement said. Al Qaeda, the radical Muslim group led by fugitive Osama bin Laden, is blamed by Washington for the devastating attacks on the United States in September 2001.
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