Federal authorities took an unidentified man into custody in Minnesota this week as a material witness in a terrorism-related investigation, law enforcement sources said Wednesday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it is unclear whether the man can provide key information in the FBI’s ongoing efforts to investigate al-Qaeda operatives or sympathizers in the United States. It also is unclear, they say, whether the man in custody has any relationship with terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, 35, a French citizen arrested while taking flight lessons in Minnesota in August 2001. Material witnesses are held on warrants when prosecutors believe they possess evidence that is crucial to an investigation and that they might flee if not taken into custody. In its Wednesday editions, The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune quoted a law enforcement official saying that the jailed man is suspected of associating with al-Qaeda. The newspaper also reported that its source said the suspect provided authorities with descriptions of Moussaoui’s activities in an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan several years ago. Full Story
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