Bin Laden associate arrested near Sarajevo

A man suspected of phoning a senior aide to Osama bin Laden was arrested in Bosnia today.

Interior Minister Muhammed Besic of the Muslim-Croat federation that makes up half of Bosnia, identified the subject as Bensayah Belkacem, alias Mejd.

He said telephone logs provided by foreign intelligence services showed Belkacem having at least one telephone conversation with Abul al Maid, a senior bin Ladin aide.

Besic said that procurement of foreign passports was apparently discussed between the two. In Sarajevo, he said the suspect had two sets of documents, identifying him either as Yemeni or Algerian.

He was arrested in Zenica, 25 miles north of the capital, Sarajevo.