Rome ? Three North African men were arrested in Italy and Germany as part of efforts to smash a network seeking to recruit Islamic militants for suicide attacks against coalition forces in Iraq, officials said.

Two others — an Iraqi man and a Tunisian woman — remained at large, the Interior Ministry in Rome said Friday.

“We’re expecting further developments within the next few days and further significant results may well be achieved,” said Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu, speaking in Brussels.

All five are charged with association with the aim of international terrorism — a charge that was introduced in Italy after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Also Friday, British authorities said they arrested a 33-year-old man on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and were searching three homes and businesses in Birmingham, England, for weapons and explosives. London’s Metropolitan Police did not release any other details.

That arrest came a day after British police said they detained 24-year-old Sajid Badat after finding explosive material at his home in Gloucester, western England. A 39-year-old Manchester man also was arrested Thursday on suspicion of terrorism but later released.

In the cases of the North African arrests, the main suspect is an Algerian believed to be the group’s ringleader and a senior operative with links to al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden’s terror network.

Abderrazak Mahdjoub, 29, was apprehended Friday in Hamburg, Germany.