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Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Just_Observing who wrote (981)	3/21/2003 6:19:10 PM
From: Augustus Gloop	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21614

French investigators probe Islamist connection in ricin find Fri Mar 21, 8:31 AM ET PARIS (AFP) - French anti-terrorist investigators examined bottles containing traces of the deadly poison ricin which were found in a locker at a busy Paris railway station, amid growing speculation that the find was linked to Islamic militants. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters there could be a connection with nine suspected members of the so-called "Chechen" network who were detained around the capital in December, though he warned there was so far no proof. On January 5 British police found traces of ricin in a raid on a London flat during which five men of North African origin were detained, and Sarkozy noted that instructions for making the poison have been found among documents issued by the al-Qaeda network. French police found the chemicals in a left-luggage locker on Monday after being tipped off by staff at the Gare de Lyon, which serves lines to southeastern France. Under stepped-up security arrangements linked to the war on Iraq (news - web sites), luggage-lockers are routinely searched if they are left unopened for more than three days. Sarkozy said the bottles contained acetone and ethanol -- two chemicals used for manufacturing ricin -- and also traces of the poison itself, though "in non-lethal quantities." Investigators were Friday analysing security video footage and questioning station personnel for clues. Swabs were also being taken of the bottles for DNA samples and fingerprints. In December French police acting under top anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere made two swoops in the Paris suburbs of La Courneuve and Romainville, detaining nine suspects and uncovering empty gas canisters, chemicals and electronic materials that could be used for a detonator. Interior ministry officials said at the time they believed they had foiled an attack on Russian interests in France to avenge the killing of Chechen hostage-takers in a Moscow theatre last October. Several of the group were said by investigators to have spent time in Chechen training camps in the lawless Pankissi valley in Georgia and to have associated with known leaders of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al-Qaeda network. One of the members -- Mirouane Ben Ahmed, 29 -- was reported to have been in touch with another Algerian Rabah Kadre, who was one of those charged in Britain last month in connection with the London ricin find. "When they found the ricin in London there was the equivalent of two Nivea pots missing," said a magistrate close to the investigation in Le Figaro newspaper. "Maybe we shouldn't be too hasty to make the link between the British Islamists and the Romainville group -- who did know each other -- but clearly there is a lead worth chasing," he said on condition of anonymity. There was no indication the find was connected to the US-led war on Iraq, though French police and security forces are on a state of high alert to prevent attacks on US or British targets.