New Zealand Bans Islamic Group and 25 Individuals

WELLINGTON - New Zealand formally outlawed as terrorists an organisation and 25 individuals with alleged links to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, Prime Minister Helen Clark said in a statement on Wednesday.

While neither the group nor the individuals had current links to New Zealand, Clark said the move "will serve to deter New Zealanders from becoming inadvertently involved in their activities".

The organisation named was Djamat Houmat Daawa Salafia which Clark described as a splinter group from the Armed Islamic Group with links to Al-Qaeda.

She said it was "well organised and equipped with military material, having engaged in terrorist activity in Algeria and internationally, and having been responsible for numerous killings since the mid-1990s".

The individuals named included six people who were members of the German cell of Al Tawhid, also linked to Al-Qaeda.

Fifteen individuals were said to be members of Al-Qaeda cells in Milan, Cremona, and Parma, Italy. Most were already in the custody of Italian authorities.

Others cited included Dawood Ibrahim, "one of the pre-eminent criminals in the Indian underworld linked to the Al-Qaeda network", and Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Nasri Ait El Hadi Mustapha, both involved in the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) which, conducts operations aimed at government and military targets in Algeria.The organisation named was Djamat Houmat Daawa Salafia which Clark described as a splinter group from the Armed Islamic Group with links to Al-Qaeda.

She said it was "well organised and equipped with military material, having engaged in terrorist activity in Algeria and internationally, and having been responsible for numerous killings since the mid-1990s".

The individuals named included six people who were members of the German cell of Al Tawhid, also linked to Al-Qaeda.

Fifteen individuals were said to be members of Al-Qaeda cells in Milan, Cremona, and Parma, Italy. Most were already in the custody of Italian authorities.

Others cited included Dawood Ibrahim, "one of the pre-eminent criminals in the Indian underworld linked to the Al-Qaeda network", and Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Nasri Ait El Hadi Mustapha, both involved in the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) which, conducts operations aimed at government and military targets in Algeria.