Bin Laden Sent Iraqi Arrested in Germany - Report

Jihad recruitment in Germany: "Authorities believe the terms refer to the recruitment and placement of volunteers for Jihad." From Reuters, with thanks to Anthony:

BERLIN (Reuters) - An Iraqi arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting an al Qaeda suicide attack in Iraq said he was sent on his mission by Osama bin Laden himself, a German magazine reported Saturday.

German state prosecutors believe Ibrahim Mohammed K., a 29-year-old Iraqi believed to be a high-ranking al Qaeda figure, recruited Yasser Abu S., a 31-year-old stateless Palestinian from Libya, as a future suicide bomber in Iraq.

The two men were arrested last Sunday in the western city of Mainz, which President Bush is due to visit next month. However, prosecutors said there was no indication the two had planned an attack in Germany.

Der Spiegel magazine said the Iraqi had told the other man he had been sent by bin Laden personally to Germany. It gave no details on the date or location of the meeting.

"Yes, he sent me to work, to sell and buy," the magazine quoted him as saying, citing a conversation from their Mainz apartment that investigating authorities recorded.

Authorities believe the terms refer to the recruitment and placement of volunteers for Jihad, or "holy war," the magazine said in a preview of an article due to appear Monday.