France to put 10 on trial in terror plot

PARIS - Ten terror suspects, including a man thought to be a top Osama bin Laden lieutenant in Europe, will stand trial for a millennium plot to attack the a market in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, judicial officials said Monday.

A German court last year convicted four Algerians for plotting to bomb the market near Strasbourg Cathedral, but French investigators think that others in France - all Algerians or French-Algerians - had a hand in the plan.

The 10 who have been under investigation in France include Mohamed Bensakria, an Algerian extradited from Spain in 2001 and the alleged bin Laden associate.

All are suspected of involvement in a plan to attack the market on New Year's Eve 2000. The well-known market is set up around the city cathedral during the Christmas period and becomes a major gathering place.

The 10 are charged with criminal association with a terrorist enterprise, a charge that can bring a 10-year prison term. France opened an investigation after four suspected Islamic radicals were arrested in Frankfurt in possession of a map of Strasbourg and a video showing the market.

In related news Monday:

U.S. forces will provide guerrilla-style combat training to Filipino soldiers battling Muslim and communist insurgents and al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah militants, officials said.

The antiterror maneuvers from July 26 to Aug. 14 will bring U.S. Special Forces trainers to Carmen in North Cotabato province, where Muslim separatists and Marxist rebels are active.

A terrorist threat prompted the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, to cancel an Independence Day reception.

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