MADRID, Oct 31: Ten Pakistanis arrested in mid-September in Barcelona were allegedly funding the Al Qaeda network by transferring ill-gotten money to Pakistan from Spain, a newspaper report claimed on Sunday.

The men wired money earlier this year to three collaborators of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is suspected of having planned the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, El Pais reported citing sources close to the investigation.

The paper did not say who had received the money, but said they had been arrested in a swoop earlier in 2004 in Pakistan during which one of them was killed.

The Pakistanis detained on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group could have made up to 18,000 euros (23,000 dollars) per day from trafficking in drugs, stolen bank cards and counterfeit passports, the report said.

"All clues indicate part of that money was sent to Karachi and Islamabad to fund terrorist activities," El Pais reported.

When police arrested the Pakistanis on Sept 15 in the Mediterranean port city, they also seized several kilos of cocaine and 18,000 euros in cash, as well as videos in which some of the suspects were reportedly shown calling for a holy war.

Mohammed, believed to be one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants, was detained in March of 2003 near Islamabad and subsequently turned over to the US authorities. He is being held in a secret location.

In addition to the September 2001 attacks, he is suspected to have ordered the attack on a synagogue in Djerba in Tunisia in April 2002 which left 16 people dead.-AFP