Italian police arrested on Tuesday a Muslim cleric and five other men suspected of financing an Islamic extremist organization that has links to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda group. The six suspects, all from Tunisia and Morocco, were seized in dawn raids by more than 170 police on 42 houses across northern Italy. A seventh suspect is still on the run. “They formed a logistical and economic support structure … that funded militants from a network tied to al Qaeda,” Finance Police Colonel Stefano Grassi told a news conference. He said Tuesday’s swoop followed a two year investigation into organized crime which uncovered a complex web of money-spinning scams that fed foreign bank accounts in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. “These aren’t the people who plant bombs. These are supporters who were involved in all sorts of criminal activities,” said a police official who declined to be named. Full Story
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