4 Islamic State suspects nabbed in Denmark raids

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Four people suspected of having “enlisted” in the Islamic State group with the intention to commit terror have been arrested, Danish police said Thursday.

All four suspects, arrested Thursday in Copenhagen and its suburbs, are suspected of violating Danish laws by joining a terrorist organization.

Police spokesman Poul Kjeldsen said arms and munitions had been found in one location but it was not immediately clear whether that could be connected to the arrests. Kjeldsen said he could not exclude the possibility of more arrests as the investigation continues.

Police declined to disclose further details, saying the prosecution would ask for closed doors at a pre-trial detention hearing Friday, which would bar the publication of details.

Kjeldsen said the four suspects had been identified through “close cooperation” between Denmark’s intelligence agency and the police in the Danish capital.

Justice Minister Soren Pind said “it was too early to say” what the suspects’ plans were.

“We are now harvesting the fruits of our thorough efforts … to stop foreign fighters,” Pind said in a television interview.

About 60 Danish nationals have returned from Syria where they have fought alongside Islamic State members. It was unclear whether the four suspects had been in Syria.

The case was not immediately believed to be linked to the arrest of a 20-year-old man in Sweden who has been was charged with preparing to a make a suicide bomb.

Last month the trial opened four men accused of helping Danish-born Palestinian Omar El-Hussein after he carried out two shooting attacks last year in Copenhagen, killing two people and injuring six.

22-year-old El-Hussein opened fire on February 14, 2015 outside a cultural center where the speakers included Swedish artist Lars Vilks, a target of Islamic extremists since he portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007.

Filmmaker Finn Norgaard, 55, died and four police officers were injured.

Later that night, El-Hussein fired six shots outside the city’s main synagogue, killing security guard Dan Uzan, 37, and injuring two more policemen.

The assailant was shot dead by police hours later. During the court proceedings the prosecution said he pledged allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook on the day of the shootings, but investigators believe he was not part of a jihadist network.