Free Republic

… the remarkable reach of the global-terror network A little-noticed investigation by Swiss federal police has uncovered the existence of an apparent terror-support network with ties to the upper levels of Al Qaeda — including an operative believed to have played a role in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the May 2003 bombing of a housing complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The discovery of a largely invisible Al Qaeda network in the peaceful alpine nation has gotten virtually no public attention outside of Switzerland. But criminal charges outlined in a July 30 Swiss prosecutor’s report —...

Posted on Tue, Aug. 24, 2004 Swiss Accuse Group of Backing al-Qaida JONATHAN FOWLER Associated Press GENEVA - Swiss investigators have found evidence that suspected members of a group backing al-Qaida were supplying fake documents to enable collaborators to enter Switzerland and other European countries illegally, the supreme court said Tuesday. The Federal Tribunal said one suspect, whose name was not released, was found to have links to both an unidentified al-Qaida recruiter who sent volunteers to the terror group's training camps and another unidentified individual convicted of terrorism offenses in France. The support group also provided cell phone numbers...

Authorities Conclude Switzerland Likely Used as Base for Financing, Logistical Support for 9/11 Attacks by Al-Qaida By Daniela Sigrist Associated Press Writer Published: Jun 24, 2004 BERN, Switzerland (AP) - Investigators have concluded that Switzerland was likely used as a base for financing and logistical support for the Sept. 11 attacks by al-Qaida, the country's attorney general said Thursday. Federal Prosecutor Valentin Roschacher said authorities plan to begin court proceedings in the coming weeks in three terror cases, capping investigations started four days after the 2001 suicide hijackings in New York and Washington. A special task force initially was charged...

It is claimed that Switzerland has been used as a base for the financial and logistical support of al-Qaeda. That is the conclusion of the federal prosecutor who is handing three cases, linked to suspected terrorist activities in the country, over to an investigating judge. The judge will decide whether to launch court proceedings. The investigations came after Switzerland set up a special task force after the September 11attacks in the US.The deputy federal prosecutor said: "It's clear that when we started the investigations on the 15th of September 2001, we weren't specialised in inquiries into terrorism, and no-one was....

The Swiss authorities have been giving information about investigations into suspected terrorist activities. The federal prosecutor said that Switzerland had probably been a base for providing support for al-Qaeda. However, the country had not played a central role in the group's activities, he said. The announcement comes in the wake of three separate inquiries into the activities of terrorist groups in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities set up a special task force to investigate possible terrorist activities four days after the 11 September attacks. Logistical support One of the main concerns was whether terrorist groups were using Switzerland as a base...

Police arrest eight over Saudi bombings Swiss authorities have arrested and detained eight people in connection with last May's terrorist attacks on Westerners in Saudi Arabia. The Federal Police Office said those arrested, all foreign nationals, were being held on suspicion of providing logistical support to a criminal organisation. The string of bombings on Western residential compounds in Riyadh on May 12 has been linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. Twenty-six people - including one Swiss - and nine attackers were killed in the bombings. “The police action was in the context of terrorism investigations, especially in connection...

Swiss hold 8 over Saudi suicide bombs Alison Langley in Zurich, and Brian Whitaker Saturday January 10, 2004 The Guardian The Swiss authorities have arrested eight people in connection with suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia. The arrests on Thursday were part of a national operation by 100 police officers who raided homes in Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Vaud and Aargau and questioned about 20 suspects. Those arrested are suspected of providing logistical support for a series of attacks by Islamic militants on housing compounds in Riyadh last May which killed 35 people, including nine assailants. Officials said all the suspects were...

Swiss police have arrested eight foreigners in connection with a series of suicide bombings that killed 35 people in the Saudi capital Riyadh last May. The Swiss Attorney-General's office says the eight people, arrested in a swoop across five Swiss cantons, are suspected of having provided logistical support to a criminal organisation. A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General's office declined to comment further on the arrests, the nature of the police's suspicions or the nationality of the detainees. Police say the arrests follow investigations into the triple suicide bombings in Riyadh that Saudi officials have blamed on Osama bin Laden's Al...