Greek Police Detain 4 Suspected Islam Terrorists; One Seems to Be Ringleader of Belgian Jihadi Cell

Widening a European counter-terrorism dragnet against radical Muslims, authorities in Greece today (January 17, 2015) detained four terrorism suspects, including a man believed to be the ringleader of a Belgian jihadi cell, the ABC News website reports.

A Greek police official said the four were arrested separately in Athens and included a man who matches the description of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, whom Belgian authorities suspect was behind a jihadi cell that was dismantled in Belgium two days ago.

Authorities in Belgium were going over photos, fingerprints, and DNA material sent from Greek police to try to verify whether the person was Abaaoud, said Greek and Belgian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of an ongoing investigation.

Greek officials initially thought Abaaoud was in Turkey, but the detained man's name -- as well as the cellphone found on him -- matches descriptions that Greek police received from Belgium, the Greek official said.