Report: Brussels cell had al-Qaida links

BRUSSELS, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- An alleged terrorist cell arrested in Belgium as European leaders gathered in Brussels in December had high-level al-Qaida contacts, sources say.

Unnamed Belgian anti-terrorism sources told the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph that the group was suspected of being directed by a senior al-Qaeda planner and was radicalized by a woman whose former husband has links to Abu Qatada, a radical Islamic cleric jailed Britain.

Belgian police arrested five alleged cell members as European heads of state were in Brussels for a two-day summit to discuss the economic crisis and climate change, the newspaper said.

The arrestees were only charged with membership of a terrorist organization because police couldn't positively identify their target. But a CNN documentary to be broadcast Tuesday claims the alleged cell had high-level links to al-Qaida.

The U.S. broadcaster reported one alleged cell member who remains at large, Moez Garsallaoui, maintained what it calls close connections with a senior al-Qaida operative, the Telegraph said.