Police seek Arab suspects in case of slain reporter

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The hunt for the killers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is targeting three Arab nationals -- an indication, investigators say, that the perpetrators may be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.

Authorities offered little information Sunday about the Arabs' identity or what role they may have played. But their alleged involvement -- combined with investigators' revelation that a key suspect now in custody said he met personally with bin Laden in Afghanistan -- suggested an al-Qaida link.

Police believe a dozen or more people were involved in Pearl's abduction and murder, and that most of them have spent time in Afghanistan as supporters of that country's ousted Taliban regime. Their links to al-Qaida -- the group believed responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States -- are being studied, investigators said.

Four key suspects were already in police custody when U.S. and Pakistani authorities revealed the contents of a videotape Friday that showed images of the 38-year-old journalist getting his throat slit.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British-born Islamic militant who police believe masterminded Pearl's abduction, has been in police custody since early February. At one point he told interrogators that he met with bin Laden in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, a senior police investigator said.

Charges planned

Today, prosecutors will formally charge Saeed and three co-defendants with kidnapping and murder, a senior government official said. The three others are accused of having sent e-mails announcing Pearl's abduction, including one showing the journalist with a gun pointed to his head.

Fearing the slaying may signal a wider plan to thwart the government's drive against terrorism, Pakistani authorities have warned U.S. and other foreign diplomatic missions and businesses to boost their security.