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Italy holds al Qaeda suspect

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- An Egyptian accused of aiding the al Qaeda terrorist network has been arrested in Italy.

Kishk Samir was detained in Rome on Friday as part of a crackdown on Osama bin Laden's group's activities in Italy, police said. U.S. intelligence officials say bin Laden is the prime suspect behind the September 11 hijacking attacks.

His arrest follows the detention of three other people with suspected links to terror groups in Italy in recent days.

Samir, 46, was arrested at Leonardo de Vinci airport, en route from Cairo to Paris, where he lives.

He is suspected of being affiliated with a group headed by Essid Sami Ben Khemais, who was arrested in Milan in April, the Italian Interior Ministry said.

Khemais, a Tunisian and key target of European terrorism investigations, is thought to be the head of the al Qaeda cell in Milan and behind foiled attacks on U.S. targets in Italy, according to authorities.

His group is accused of aiding those seeking to join terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

Samir, who had been sought since October, is charged with being associated with a delinquency group; trafficking in arms, explosives, chemical agents and false documents; and aiding illegal immigration, police said.

Since April, Italian authorities have made a series of arrests, cracking what they said was a cell that supported al Qaeda operatives in a number of countries including Spain, Germany and France.