Italian Police Arrest 28 Pakistanis

01/02/2003| IslamWeb

Twenty-eight Pakistanis arrested during a routine sweep for illegal immigrants possessed explosives, hundreds of forged documents and maps of the Naples area with "sensitive" targets circled, authorities said Friday. Police first said in a statement they uncovered an "al-Qaida terrorist cell," but gave no further details on the suspects' alleged involvement with al-Qaida or any other international terrorist group.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said late Friday officers "might have gotten ahead of themselves" in announcing an al-Qaida link.

The official also dismissed Italian news reports the Pakistanis belonged to the militant group Islamic Jihad. Any links between those arrested and international terrorist groups still had to be verified, he said.

In several recent instances, Italian authorities have announced terrorism-related arrests, only to pull back and in some cases release the suspects for lack of evidence.

In this case, police said they picked up the Pakistanis, ages 20-48, during a routine search in Naples on Thursday.

While raiding an apartment in the city center, they uncovered 2 pounds of dynamite, 165 feet of explosive fuse and various detonators, police said.

Another police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the combination of materials "could have imploded a 10-story building." The dynamite and the chemicals used in the explosive fuse produced 3.3 pounds of T4, an explosive that is powerful even in small amounts, police said.

Police also uncovered maps of Naples with "sensitive" targets circled, the official said. He refused to elaborate.

Italian news reports, citing unidentified sources, said the areas marked included the U.S. Consulate in Naples and NATO bases in nearby Bagnoli and Capodichino.

NATO had no immediate comment.

The U.S. Embassy was briefed on the arrests and was monitoring the situation closely, a U.S. official said.

Police also found hundreds of forged identity documents, hundreds of cell phones, an index of thousands of international telephone contacts and addresses, and instruction manuals on forging identity documents, the statement said.

Also, other documents - including religious texts in Pakistan's Urdu language - were found in the apartment, along with photos of "martyrs of the Jihad," the police statement said.

The Pakistanis have been charged with several terrorism-related crimes, the statement said.

The Italian Interior Ministry acknowledged in January that its officials traveled to Guantanamo to interview detainees who had lived in Italy.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Italian carabiniere, right, patrols the street in Naples, southern Italy, where 28 Pakistanis, who were found in possession of large quantities of explosives, forged documents and maps of the Naples area with sensitive targets circled with a pen, where arrested, Friday, Jan. 31, 2003. Magistrates are investigating possible links with foreign terrorist groups. (AP Photo/Franco Cas