Danish terrorism suspects remanded in custody

COPENHAGEN, Oct 3 (Reuters) Seven young Muslim men accused of plotting to carry out a bomb attack in Denmark must remain in custody for another four weeks pending further police investigation, a Danish judge ruled today.

The men, aged between 18 and 33, were arrested in Odense in central Denmark last month under anti-terrorism laws introduced after the September 11 attacks on the United States. Two others were also arrested but released after police questioning.

''The judge ruled that the seven men must remain in custody, isolated, for four more weeks,'' court official Anders Munch Jensen told Reuters. The court will hold the next arraignment hearing on October 31.

Authorities said the seven had collected materials to make explosives for an attack in the Nordic country, which has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The potential target has not been revealed, but Justice Minister Lene Espersen called the incident one of the most serious ever in Denmark.

Friends and relatives of the suspects say the men are Danish Muslims without radical agendas. Several are of Palestinian descent and one is an ethnic Dane.

REUTERS SP KN2110