Al-Qaeda militants arrested

COPENHAGEN – Denmark’s intelligence service arrested eight Islamic militants linked to leading al Qaeda figures in anti-terror raids in the Danish capital, the head of the agency said yesterday The men, between ages 19 and 29, were suspected of preparing a terror act involving explosives, said Jakob Scharf, the head of the PET intelligence service.

“With the arrests we have prevented a terror attack,” Scharf told reporters at a news conference. He did not say what the target of the planned attack was.Those arrested were six Danish citizens and two foreign nationals with Danish residence permits, Scharf said.The suspects had been under surveillance for a longer period and were arrested after police gathered enough evidence against them, he said.”They also have been producing an unstable explosive in a densely populated area,” Scharf said.He said Danish investigators had worked with “several foreign cooperation partners” in the probe.”Those arrested are militant Islamists with connections to leading al Qaeda persons,” Scharf said, but did not name those people.”According to our assessment, there is a direct connection to al Qaeda.”The suspects – of Afghan, Pakistani, Somali and Turkish origin – were arrested without incident in separate raids at 00h00 GMT, Scharf told reporters, declining to say whether more people were sought in the investigation.Eleven locations were raided in and around Copenhagen, including the Ishoej suburb and the Noerrebro district of the capital.The TV2 News channel reported a 19-year-old electrician was arrested in Ishoej, while a taxi driver in his early 20s was arrested in Noerrebro.TV footage shot from a helicopter showed bomb squads and forensics agents at those locations.Sadiq al-Fatlawi, who said he lives on the floor above the cab driver told TV2 News that police ordered him and other neighbours to leave the building during the raid because it was dangerous to remain inside.”When we came down to the (police) van they told us that they had suspicions that there were explosives in the property,” al-Fatlawi said.They were let back in four hours later.He said the taxi driver was of Pakistani origin and had recently moved in to the building.The Danish Emergency Management Agency said its chemical unit had ‘assisted’ the police, but did not give details.It was the third time Danish police cracked down on suspected terrorist networks since 2005.The trial of four men suspected of planning to blow up a target in Denmark or Europe was set to begin in Copenhagen today.Nampa-APHe did not say what the target of the planned attack was.Those arrested were six Danish citizens and two foreign nationals with Danish residence permits, Scharf said.The suspects had been under surveillance for a longer period and were arrested after police gathered enough evidence against them, he said.”They also have been producing an unstable explosive in a densely populated area,” Scharf said.He said Danish investigators had worked with “several foreign cooperation partners” in the probe.”Those arrested are militant Islamists with connections to leading al Qaeda persons,” Scharf said, but did not name those people.”According to our assessment, there is a direct connection to al Qaeda.”The suspects – of Afghan, Pakistani, Somali and Turkish origin – were arrested without incident in separate raids at 00h00 GMT, Scharf told reporters, declining to say whether more people were sought in the investigation.Eleven locations were raided in and around Copenhagen, including the Ishoej suburb and the Noerrebro district of the capital.The TV2 News channel reported a 19-year-old electrician was arrested in Ishoej, while a taxi driver in his early 20s was arrested in Noerrebro.TV footage shot from a helicopter showed bomb squads and forensics agents at those locations.Sadiq al-Fatlawi, who said he lives on the floor above the cab driver told TV2 News that police ordered him and other neighbours to leave the building during the raid because it was dangerous to remain inside.”When we came down to the (police) van they told us that they had suspicions that there were explosives in the property,” al-Fatlawi said.They were let back in four hours later.He said the taxi driver was of Pakistani origin and had recently moved in to the building.The Danish Emergency Management Agency said its chemical unit had ‘assisted’ the police, but did not give details.It was the third time Danish police cracked down on suspected terrorist networks since 2005.The trial of four men suspected of planning to blow up a target in Denmark or Europe was set to begin in Copenhagen today.Nampa-AP