¡¡¡¡ ROME, Sept. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- A group of people plucked from a Libya-bound merchant vessel last month were arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of involvement in Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terror network.

¡¡¡¡The 15 people were taken off a Tonga-flagged cargo ship en route from Morocco to Libya in late August, said Santi Giuffre', police chief of the southern Sicilian city of Caltanissetta.

¡¡¡¡Some of the Pakistanis, who were not identified, have been named in US anti-terror investigations, Giuffre' told a press conference in Caltanissetta.

¡¡¡¡They were carrying false passports when they were taken off theship, Giuffre' said.

¡¡¡¡He stressed they were not planning attacks on Italy.

¡¡¡¡US Navy cryptographers had deciphered codes and documents foundon the ship, currently called the Sara, he said.

¡¡¡¡The ship was stopped off the port of Gela after Italian secret services received a tip-off that the Pakistanis were on board, Giuffre' said.

¡¡¡¡Investigators were "immediately suspicious," he said, about thepresence of a large group of people on a cargo ship bound for Libya.

¡¡¡¡The men had been questioned "for a long time" and there was "a strong possibility" that they belonged to al Qaida, which claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the US, Giuffre'said. Enditem