DJ Morocco Arrests 3 Saudis; Plot To Attack US, UK Warships
06/10/2002
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
RABAT, Morocco (AP)--Moroccan police have dismantled a terrorist cell, arresting three Saudi nationals who allegedly planned attacks on U.S. and U.K. warships, key government officials said Monday.
The three men, with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, were planning suicide operations against U.S. and U.K. warships patrolling the Strait of Gilbraltar, the Moroccan officials said on condition of anonymity.
The names of the suspects, who were arrested in May, weren't released.
The arrests were made with the help of intelligence services of "several friendly countries," one of the officials told The Associated Press.
It is the first such terrorist crackdown in Morocco since the U.S. and its allies launched a military campaign in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaida.
In October 2000, two suicide bombers in a small dingy rammed the USS Cole destroyer in a port in Yemen, blasting a hole in its side, killing 17 sailors.
The U.S. blames bin Laden's al-Qaida network for that attack and the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 06-10-02
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