Al-Qaida suspect with links to US hijackings arrested

A German of Moroccan descent has been arrested in Hamburg on suspicion that he is a member of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network with contacts to a man close to the September 11 hijackers, federal prosecutors said today.

The man, identified only as Redouane E H, 36, was a resident of the northern city of Kiel and was arrested on suspicion of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation, prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Frauke Scheuten said.

As part of the operation on Thursday, federal police searched many residences in Kiel, Scheuten said.

He is suspected of being in contact with Said Bahaji, who had close ties to the three September 11 hijackers who lived and studied in Hamburg – Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah – but fled before the attacks and is believed to be in Pakistan. Scheuten said, however, that there is not evidence of direct contact between Redouane E. H. and the hijackers, or their plot.

“The accused had numerous contacts with the international network of violent jihadis, among other places in Syria, Algeria and Iraq,” Scheuten said.

“At the end of November 2005, he completed explosives training at a camp operated by a terrorist network in Algeria. He is seriously suspected of supporting the al-Qaida foreign terrorist network through recruiting fighters for suicide attacks in Iraq and through financial payments.”

The evidence was largely drawn from monitoring the suspect’s online chat conversations, Scheuten said.

Scheuten said there is currently no evidence the suspect was planning any attacks within Germany.