Danish court holds remaining five in bomb plot

COPENHAGEN, Sep 8 (Reuters) Five men accused of plotting to carry out a bomb attack in Denmark were remanded in custody today after police convinced a court they now had sufficient evidence to keep them jailed while investigations continue.

Authorities said they were planning a terror attack in the Nordic country, which has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The five were among a group of nine men aged 18-33 who were arrested by security police on Tuesday under anti-terrorism laws introduced after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Two of the original nine arrested were released Tuesday, while two others were remanded in custody early Wednesday after an arraignment.

A judge then granted police three days to build a stronger case on the remaining five, saying initial evidence was not enough to hold them for longer periods.

''The court has now decided to hold them for four weeks under preliminary charges of breaking the anti-terrorism laws,'' a court official said.

Friends and relatives of some of the suspects have expressed disbelief after the arrests, saying the men are Danish Muslims without radical agendas. Several are of Palestinian descent and one is an ethnic Dane.

Police acted after discovering that members of the group had collected materials to make explosives, authorities said.

The potential target of an attack has not been revealed, but Justice Minister Lene Espersen called the incident one of the most serious ever in Denmark.

The arrests came hot on the heels of incidents in Britain and Germany, where authorities said they had uncovered plots aimed at transport networks.

Suspects can be remanded in custody under preliminary charges for months in Denmark, with new custody hearings every four weeks. Then, in cases under the anti-terror laws, the justice minister decides whether or not to charge suspects after a recommendation from prosecutors.

REUTERS MS KN1937