Prominent militants in London were targeted by a private investigator working for Rupert Murdoch's now-closed News of the World tabloid, according to data obtained by Reuters. The data, which was collected by British government investigators in 2006 as they looked into alleged media abuses, show that a News of the World journalist commissioned private investigator Steve Whittamore to gather data on Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada, two of London's most controversial militant clerics. Mohammed Al Massari, who lives in London, was also targeted in the same way, the data shows. The information does not indicate whether the newspaper or private eye hacked into any of the militants' voicemails, an illegal tactic used by another detective employed by paper who was jailed in 2007 along with a reporter for hacking into the voicemails of celebrities and aides to Britain's royal family. News International, Murdoch's London newspaper publishing operation, said it was looking into the matter. On Friday, London's Metropolitan Police said its investigators had so far identified 5,795 different individuals as possible victims of News of the World phone hacking. Sources at News International also said a journalist for its surviving tabloid daily, The Sun, had been arrested on Friday in connection with inquiries into bribery of police. The sources said Friday's arrest was the first for work performed for The Sun.
