AL-QAIDA CONNECTIONS IN BOSNIA QUASHED

SARAJEVO, Oct 25 (Hina) - The Al-Qaida terrorist organisation had connections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but its actions in the country have been prevented with a joint action of local authorities, Stabilisation Force (SFOR) troops, and NATO, SFOR spokesman Daryl Morrell said in Sarajevo on Thursday. After numerous speculations about ties between the terrorist organisation with Osama bin Laden at the helm and Bosnia- Herzegovina, the information has been confirmed for the first time. Morrell, however, refused to explain what kind of ties there were. We cannot say how many people are in question and what their exact connections with the Al-Qaida were, he said, but warned that not all the dangers had been removed, stressing relevant security measures were still being undertaken. Thanks to our outstanding cooperation, we have managed to quash the ties the Al-Qaida had in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but this does not mean the terrorist network has been annihilated, the spokesman said. The SFOR command, he stressed, is impressed with the measures Bosnian authorities have undertaken since September 11 to prevent terrorist actions in the country. According to information at hand, Since October 8, the local authorities have arrested eight people believed to be involved in terrorist activities. The most important among them seems to be one Bensay Belkacem, who, it has been established, had kept telephone contacts with a close associate of bin Laden. All the six people are from Algeria and have been set a 30-day detention. The Bosnian Federation Supreme Court has launched an investigation. At the start of the anti-terrorist campaign in Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFOR apprehended two Arabs, suspected of having some part in terrorism. They are Egyptian and Algerian nationals and were soon deported from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Commenting on the fact, Morrell recalled that the SFOR had no authority to indict anybody, as this was the job of the judiciary in the country. He did confirm that the SFOR was satisfied with the way the local authorities had solved the issue of people who had been arrested by the NATO-led troops. It has been confirmed that neither the SFOR nor local authorities had found any terrorist training camps about which there has been ample speculation. People who resided in Bosnia or travelled to it under various pretexts seem to have been the factors of danger. Sources at the United Nations Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina have reported that Bosnian police identified another four Arabs suspected of being linked with terrorism in the Sanski Most area. The UN Mission has been informed that a Sudanese, a Libyan and two Iraqis are suspected of being connected with terrorism. A UN spokesman in Sarajevo, Stefo Lehman, refused to comment on claims that this was an operation which was underway. Citing unnamed police sources, Sarajevo's daily "Oslobodjenje" on Thursday claimed that the Federal Interior Ministry had directed its investigation to actions of an Algerian terrorist organisation, the GIA. It is presumed the six arrested Algerians are members of the GIA, and their actions were financed by several Islamic humanitarian organisations, led by a Saudi senior assistance committee. Bosnian authorities are reportedly seriously thinking about shutting down the Saudi committee's work. (hina) lml sb