Africa News

Nigeria arrests militants suspected of ties with al-Qaeda (Roundup)

Nov 12, 2007, 14:09 GMT

Abuja - Nigerian security officials have arrested a group of militants suspected of having links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, an official said Monday. Ten men were arrested at the weekend after 'intelligence work' on al-Qaeda was conducted in three states. 'They were arrested with potential terrorism weapons like fertilizers when their hideouts were raided following a tip-off,' said Afakriya Gadzama, head of the State Security Service. The US has warned that Nigeria, which has not had a terrorist attack on its soil, is rife with potential for one. Gadzama said three of the suspects had been confirmed to have terrorist links and also confessed to planning attacks on targets in the country. He said the remaining seven suspects were still being screened 'to ascertain their collective and individual levels of involvement in the planned attack.' Nigeria battles homegrown militants in its oil-rich south, who demand a greater say over the use of their region's oil wealth. With much of the population poor across the country, Western nations have warned that Nigeria could be a breeding ground for international terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Nigeria arrests militants suspected of ties with al-Qaeda (Roundup)

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