Report says man eyed for Qaeda link is arrested

MINNEAPOLIS -- A man suspected of associating with Al Qaeda and having knowledge of some of the activities of Zacarias Moussaoui was arrested Tuesday in Minneapolis, a newspaper reported yesterday.

The man's name was not released. The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune said it learned of the arrest from a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

FBI spokesman Paul McCabe declined to comment on the report. US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger did not immediately return a call from the Associated Press.

In Washington, federal law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the arrest of a suspect in a terrorism-related case under court-ordered seal in Minneapolis. But the officials refused to provide any further details about the suspect, his affiliation or acquaintances.

The Star Tribune source said the detainee has confirmed some of investigators' suspicions about Moussaoui, who was arrested while learning to fly a Boeing 747 jet at an Eagan flight school two years ago. The official told the newspaper that the jailed man has described Moussaoui's activities at an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan several years ago.

Members of the FBI's local Joint Terrorism Task Force made the arrest after a lengthy investigation, the official said. But the detainee's identity was kept off the public roster of inmates at the Hennepin County jail.

Roseann Campagnoli, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, referred calls yesterday to the US attorney's office.

Moussaoui, 35, was indicted on Dec. 11, 2001. He is charged with a broad conspiracy that includes the Sept. 11 attacks. His is the only US criminal case spawned by the suicide hijackings.