Dutch Clear 5 Somalis Detained on Terror Suspicions

Twelve Somalis suspected of involvement in terrorist activities have been arrested in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands prosecution service said Saturday.A statement said the arrests were made late Friday following a tip-off by Dutch intelligence that a number of Somalis were planning an attack in the Netherlands relatively soon.The arrested Somalis were aged between 19 and 48, the statement said. Six lived in Rotterdam, five had no known address and one was a Danish resident, the statement said.

A Canadian who traveled to Somalia in 2009 to join the armed Islamist group Al Shabab died in a suicide attack in the capital Mogadishu on the weekend, a community source familiar with the case said Monday. The RCMP said it was looking into whether a Canadian was involved in the deadly attack on the Mogadishu courts. If confirmed, Mahad Ali Dhore, would be the second member of the so-called Somali Six known to have died.

GEOFF ROBINS for National PostAaron Yoon in the 2005-2006 yearbook from South Secondary School in London, Ontario. GEOFF ROBINS for National Post) ORG XMIT

British police have arrested five men on suspicion of preparing a "terrorist" attack linked to the ongoing state visit of Pope Benedict XVI, Scotland Yard said on Friday.Police said the men were arrested early Friday "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism" but the itinerary and policing arrangements for the pope's visit remain unchanged.The five, aged between 26 and 50, were arrested under the Terrorism Act at what police said was a business premises in central London at around 5:45am (0445 GMT).

A CBC investigation has fingered a third man from London, Ont., with possible links to a terrorist attack on an Algerian gas plant last January. Aaron Yoon attended London South Collegiate and was a classmate of Xristos Katsiroubas and Ali Medlej, two men the public broadcaster identified on Monday as being among 29 Islamist extremists who stormed the In Amenas plant and held hundreds of workers hostage for four days.

European nannycrats breathed a sigh of relief following the re-election of Dutch Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte on September 12.

British police on Friday arrested five men on suspicion of plotting a "terrorist" attack linked to the historic state visit of Pope Benedict XVI.The Vatican insisted that the pope was "calm" following the arrests and that it had full confidence in Scotland Yard's ability to protect him.The five men were held "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism" when officers raided a business address in central London in the early hours, according to a police statement.