Dutch officials arrest 8 with al-Qaida links

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Eight men have been arrested on suspicion of helping finance al-Qaida and recruit fighters for Osama bin Laden's network, Dutch prosecutors said Monday.

The men, whose names have not been released, were detained Friday in different parts of the country. They appeared before a judge in Rotterdam and were charged with membership in a criminal organization. Investigators haven't determined the men's nationalities.

The men are accused of providing financial and logistical services to al-Qaida and recruiting fighters who were prepared to die for Muslim holy war, a prosecution statement said. Four other suspects held briefly in the case were later released.

The National Intelligence Service opened investigations into the recruitment of jihad fighters in the Netherlands after two young Dutchmen of Moroccan origin were killed in Kashmir in January.

Although the Netherlands is reviewing laws that would toughen punishments for terrorist-related crime, the four will be tried under old laws which may lead to lighter sentences if convicted.

Prosecutors say that besides the Paris embassy, the group targeted the Kleine-Brogel base in northeast Belgium, where around 100 U.S. Air Force personnel are stationed. Environmental groups claim the munitions dump also stores 26 B61 free-fall nuclear bombs.

France opened an investigation into the U.S. Embassy plot on Sept. 10 -- a day before the U.S. attacks. About a dozen people have been jailed in connection with the case, including Trabelsi, who remains in detention in Belgium awaiting trial.

In a raid of the Dutch house in the port city of Rotterdam, police found about 60 stolen documents, including 26 foreign passports, as well as video speeches by Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida network.

Mezbar's fingerprints were found at four sites where passports were stolen in the Netherlands in 1997 and 1999, according to the arrest warrant given to the Canadians.

Wiretaps cited in Mezbar's warrant linked Courtailler and Berkous to Trabelsi's plans to attack the U.S. Embassy in Paris this summer.