Germany: Palestinian linked to al-Qaida arrested
German authorities have arrested a Palestinian believed to have participated in an insurance scam with two al-Qaida suspects detained earlier this year for allegedly plotting an attack in Iraq, federal prosecutors said Sunday.
The man, identified only as Ismail Abu S., 28, was arrested Saturday at his home in the western town of Marburg, a statement from prosecutors said. He is the brother of one of the two al-Qaida suspects - an Iraqi and a Palestinian - who were arrested in January.
Prosecutors have said that his brother, identified as Yasser Abu S., apparently planned to fake his death for insurance money and then carry out a suicide attack in Iraq. The majority of the insurance payoff was to fund al-Qaida activities, they say.
His brother is believed "to have been involved, along with the suspects Mohamed K. and Yasser Abu S., in the fraudulent conclusion of life insurance contracts to the value of about 930,000 (US$1.17 million)," Sunday's statement said.
"Whether or to what extent he was informed, or at least was aware of the possibility, that part of the money that was to be raised as a result of this crime was supposed to go to ... al-Qaida is the object of further investigations," it added.
Why am I not surprised?
From JPost:
Posted by Joseph Alexander Norland at May 23, 2005 08:03 AM