10 Arrested in Anti-Terrorism Raids in Albania

Police and intelligence agents raided several alleged terrorist safe houses and arrested 10 foreign nationals, including some from Arab countries, sources said Saturday.

The raids Friday night followed reports that Albanian intelligence agents and the CIA had launched a nationwide hunt for those involved in terror attacks in Egypt, including the November 1997 massacre of 62 people in Luxor.

During the sweep, authorities found bulletproof vests, fake passports, maps, radio transmitters and electronic devices, a police source said on condition of anonymity.

The same source said the 10 were citizens of Arab countries, but another source later said the detainees also included citizens of non-Arab countries.

The state news agency ATA also reported the arrests of 10 foreigners Friday but did not give their nationalities or other details.

Earlier this summer, five suspects believed to be Egyptian nationals reportedly were arrested and spirited out of the country with the help of U.S. agents.

Last Sunday, 120 heavily armed U.S. Marines tightened security at the American diplomatic compound here after U.S. officials said they received credible evidence of a plan to attack the U.S. mission.

Three days later, Albanian and U.S. agents reportedly were carrying out a nationwide search for suspected members of a terrorist group that had planned the attack.

Humanitarian organizations operating in northern Albania also have ordered their U.S. workers out of Bajram Curri and Tropoja, two towns near the border.

Speaking on television late Friday, Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano confirmed the joint hunt for suspected terrorists.

Albanian borders are porous at best, which is one reason why, for example, ethnic Albanian rebels fighting for the independence of the nearby Serbian province of Kosovo can easily smuggle men and arms across the border.

Muslim influence has grown here since 1991, when Albania opened to the rest of the world after years of stifling communist rule. Money has poured in from Islamic countries to build schools, hospitals and charity centers, on condition that the Muslims be allowed to build mosques.

Along with these legitimate activities, however, have come fears of illicit ones. A local newspaper reported Saturday that an investigation had started into the workings of the Islamic Bank, an investment bank that opened in Tirana in 1994.

The independent newspaper Shekulli quoted a police source as saying that the investigation of the Islamic Bank started after evidence was found that it had been used by terrorists to transfer large amounts of money.