Italian police arrest al-Qaida-link Algerians

Italian police arrested at least three Algerians today after they were convicted of providing logistical support to a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida, officials said.

Authorities issued the arrest warrants after Italy’s highest court upheld the conviction yesterday.

According to Naples police, the three were convicted for helping the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, an extremist organisation that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and is believed to have links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

The three were identified as Djamel Lounici, Ali El-Heit and Moustapha Abbes. Lounici is believed to be a key member of the group.

The men were originally arrested following a three-year probe that ended in 1997. They were later released, in line with Italian law, which limits the amount of time suspects can be kept in jail before definitive sentence is issued.

Authorities have issued warrants for nine more Algerians, who are still at large.

The 12 Algerians were convicted of supplying arms and false documents to the extremist group in 2002, police said, and given sentences of between three and eight years.

The Italian cell was linked to similar groups in Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Holland and Switzerland, which help providing the arms, police said.

The Salafist group was added in 2002 to the US State Department’s list of known international terrorist organisations, and Italian police have made several arrests of suspects believed to be linked to the group.