Israel Arrests 23 Suspected Muslim GuerrillasIsrael said Monday it had arrested in the past few weeks 23 suspected guerrillas who planned to carry out bombing attacks on Israelis and had links to the Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden."We confirm the arrests and the suspected links to bin Laden," Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office said. Israel's Channel One Television reported that Nabil Aukal, who was arrested a few months ago by Israeli security at the Rafah terminal in Gaza, was suspected of leading the group and having direct ties to bin Laden's group. A Palestinian security official denied Aukal had any links to bin Laden, who is now thought to be living in Afghanistan. The United States wants bin Laden to stand trial on charges he masterminded the bombing of two of its embassies, in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, in 1998 with heavy loss of life. Channel One Television said the latest round of arrests was different from previous roundups because of the group's links to worldwide guerrilla organizations and their use of the Internet to make it difficult to track their movements. |
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