German Islamic group suspects held
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Police have arrested 22 members of a suspected criminal Islamic extremist network thought to be involved in recruiting for jihad, or holy war, Munich police said.
The arrests capped an extended investigation of the group, suspected of helping terrorists and centered in the area of the southern German city of Ulm.
About 700 police officers raided 57 apartments, businesses and mosques in five German states -- Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hesse, North-Rhine Westfalia and Berlin.
Eleven arrest warrants were issued nationwide, and another 11 people were temporarily arrested. They are suspected of being members of the association supporting Islamic extremists. Police said, for example, several of the suspects are supposed to have falsified documents in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Other suspects are in Germany illegally, Munich police said. One of them is known to use eight different identities.
Among those arrested are five women. Police said they include citizens from several Arab states, mostly Maghreb, but also Germans. They range in age from 17 to 46.
Munich police said the network used the profits from its criminal activities to promote its "ideological goals," including the recruitment of people for jihad -- Arabic for holy war or struggle -- and allowing them to stay in Germany and other countries illegally with false documents.
There are no indications the group was planning any specific attacks, police said.
There are signs the association has ties to the Al-Thawid and Ansar Al-Islam organizations, police added. One suspect apparently has attended an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan.
Three of the September 11, 2001 hijackers lived in Germany, and since then German authorities have been cracking down on Islamic extremists.
A state interior minister said in remarks quoted by The Associated Press that the investigation was evidence of Germany's "uncompromising fight strategy" in the war on terror.
CNN's Stephanie Halasz contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
