Swiss hold 7 suspected of planning El Al attack

ZURICH (Reuters) – Seven people of North African origin are
being held on suspicion of plotting to attack an Israeli El Al
airliner in Switzerland, the Swiss Attorney General’s office
said on Thursday.

The Attorney General’s office gave no details as to what
kind of attack was planned or where it was intended to take
place. It also said no explosives had been found.

The group of suspects arrested in Switzerland had been in
contact with other groups of suspects in France and Spain which
have also been uncovered by the police, it added.

“The inquiry has … made it possible to show that this
cell had very seriously envisaged committing an attack in our
country on an airliner belonging to the El Al airline,” said
the statement.

El Al operates regular scheduled flights from Tel Aviv to
Zurich and to Geneva.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported last month
that Swiss and French intelligence agents had foiled a plot to
shoot down an El Al plane over Geneva in December using a
rocket-propelled grenade.

A senior Israeli security official declined comment on the
arrests in Switzerland but said: “Past experience and
intelligence received from time to time underscore efforts by
terror groups to attack Israeli targets abroad.”

One of the Swiss suspects was in touch with an Algerian,
known as Mohamed Achraf, who was extradited to Spain last year.

Swiss news Web site Swiss Info said Achraf was arrested in
Switzerland and was the suspected mastermind of a plot to
attack a court building in Madrid.

A first round of arrests was made near Zurich and Basel on
May 12. These were followed by more arrests in other parts of
Switzerland.

The suspicions of the police were first aroused after a
series of robberies was committed early last year by what the
Attorney General’s office described as a highly organized group
of about a dozen people.

An investigation revealed that “a part of the stolen booty
was transferred for the benefit of a terrorist organization,”
said the statement.

French police confirmed that they had been involved in a
joint anti-terrorist operation with Swiss and Spanish police.

“An operation took place which led to arrests in several
countries,” a police spokeswoman said. “Individuals have been
detained for questioning in France and operations are
continuing,” she said, giving no further details.