Police in Maryland have made "multiple arrests" at a rest stop off a highway in Maryland in connection to the Washington-area sniper case, CNN television said quoting reliable sources listening to police scanners.At least two people were arrested near Middletown, Maryland, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of here, CNN said early Thursday.

There was no information as to the identity of the people arrested or whether they were related to the man for whom Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose late Wednesday said an arrest warrant had been issued for firearms violations.

The area around Interstate 70, near where the multiple arrests took place, is under police control with helicopters buzzing overhead, CNN said.

A 11-kilometer (seven-mile) stretch of the highway has been closed to traffic, the sources added.

On Wednesday Moose said: "An arrest warrant has been issued for John Allen Muhamed, also known as John Allen Williams, a black male 42 years of age, approximately 1.85 meters (six foot one) tall and about 80 kilos (180 lbs).

"This charge is not related to the recent shootings being investigated by the Montgomery County task force," Moose said.
The arrest warrant, Moose said, is for a firearms violations.

Moose's statement came hours after local and federal police combed the back yard of a home in Tacoma, in the northwestern US state of Washington, for evidence linked to the sniper, who has killed 10 people and wound three in and around the nation's capital since October 2.

The sniper has killed 10 people and wounded three in and around the nation's capital.

Local firefighters cut down and carted away a tree trunk from the backyard, believing it might have been used for target practice, a neighbor with sight of the house told AFP. Local television showed agents sweeping the grounds with what appeared to be metal detectors, often used to recover shell casings.

Bush dedicated money, agents and equipment to the search for the sniper amid growing calls for federal help as the death toll reached 10.

"I've ordered the full resources of the federal government to help local law enforcement officials in their efforts to capture this person," Bush said.

The announcement came after police confirmed that a 35-year-old bus driver shot Tuesday was the latest fatal victim after examining ballistic evidence.

Federal immigration authorities also assisted, offering resident visa status to immigrants with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the sniper who has shot 13 people.

PHOTO CAPTION

Maryland State Police Major Greg Shipley addresses the media at a news conference at the Frederick County Law Enforcement Center in Frederick, Md, Thursday morning, Oct . 24, 2002. Shipley announced that the two men wanted for questioning in the wave of deadly sniper attacks in the Washington area were arrested early Thursday after they were found sleeping in their car at a rest stop off a Maryland interstate. (AP Photo/Victoria Arocho)