Germany arrests Iraqi suspected of aiding al Qaeda

BERLIN - German police arrested an Iraqi man on Tuesday who they suspect aided al Qaeda by posting messages from Osama bin Laden and other leaders of militant Islamist groups on the internet, the prosecutor's office said.

Authorities believe the 36-year-old suspect, identified only as Ibrahim R, broadcast numerous audio and video messages from al Qaeda chief bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and the late leader of al Qaeda in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on the Web.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that Ibrahim R was able to "circulate the messages worldwide and thereby support the groups in their terrorist acts and goals".

The man was arrested at his home near the northwestern town of Osnabrueck. His apartment was also searched.

This is the latest in a series of arrests of suspected al Qaeda members and supporters in Germany.

A Hamburg-based al Qaeda cell has been blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Since then, Germany has cracked down on Muslim militants living in the country and has put a number of radical Islamists on trial.

- REUTERS