Suspected terrorists acquitted by court

A DUTCH court acquitted four men yesterday of conspiracy to attack US targets in Europe, citing insufficient evidence and an improper police investigation.

The ruling ended the first terrorism-related trial in the Netherlands since the September 11 attacks last year in the United States.

Three of the defendants, including a Frenchmen accused of being the ringleader, had been held in Dutch jails since their arrest two days after the US attacks. The fourth was extradited from Canada earlier this year.