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Thursday, Feb. 22, 2001

Officials said the arrests were part of an intensified effort to crack down on a network with ties to alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Bin Laden is a Saudi national wanted in Washington for allegedly masterminding the August 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. He is also a prime suspect in last year's attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

Last week, British police officers raided several houses in London and arrested 10 men, six of whom have been charged with preparing to engage in "acts of terrorism."

Among the four arrested but not charged was Omar Mahmood Abu Omar, an Islamic religious leader who American and Jordanian officials say is a key agent for bin Laden in Europe.

Jordanian courts have twice convicted Omar, who is known as Abu Qatada, on terrorism charges in absentia, in 1998 for his role in bombings and last year for conspiring to blow up tourist sites during millennium celebrations.

U.S. officials said the investigations of such militants gained momentum on Dec. 26 when the German police arrested four men in Frankfurt on terrorism charges.

The prosecutor's office accused the four of belonging to a "criminal organization based in Frankfurt," and said the police suspect that the four are "loosely affiliated with an international network of Mujahideen," or holy warriors, who learned "guerrilla warfare and the use of explosives in training camps" financed and run by bin Laden, the Times said.

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Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.