Norwegian police have dropped terrorism charges against the suspected leader of an Iraqi Kurd Islamist extremist group, whom the United States has accused of links to al-Qaeda, police and the man’s lawyer said. “Charges for terrorism are dropped,” lawyer Brynjar Meling told AFP. “(This) strengthens our case.” Meling’s client, Mullah Krekar, is suspected of leading the Ansar al-Islam group, which is alleged to have experimented with bio-warfare on animals and killed at least one man. The Norwegian media has alleged it helped al-Qaeda develop and produce chemical weapons. Police said they had not found any evidence that Mullah Krekar was involved in “terrorist” activity. “We have in the investigation … not found any evidence to support the suspicion that Ansar al-Islam has carried out terrorist operations in Iraq or other cities in the world or that Mullah Krekar can be linked to planning or carrying out such activities,” Erling Grimstad of the police’s Economic Crime Unit told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. Full Story
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