Germans Arrest Three Terrorist Suspects

(Karlsruhe, Germany) Sometime between 1996 and 2001, three Iraqi national citizens identified as Dieman A.I., 39, Kawa H., 33, and Najat O., 43, entered Germany seeking asylum. They were denied asylum, however, according to prosecution spokeswoman Frauke-Katrin Scheuten, they were allowed to stay in Germany. As an aside, this doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

Nevertheless, during their stay in Germany, they were recruited as members of the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam which is identified as the parent group of Ansar al-Sunna operating in Iraq. And, this past Tuesday, the three were arrested by police per the direction of Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm on criminal charges of raising money and serving as couriers for the terrorist group. Their arrests are part of a continuing series of raids involving hundreds of police and dating back to January. According to this report:

These raids were launched as a result of information that U.S. interrogators obtained from a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, the New York Times reported afterward.

Also on Tuesday, police conducted raids at 24 locations in cities across Germany and, with Swiss help, a location in Basel was searched.

In summary, the three terrorist suspects are in custody because a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay provided information.