Norwegian newspaper VG reported Thursday that the unlisted phone number was tracked to Oslo's Furuset district, and apparently had been transferred to the home telephone of a Norwegian woman in her 20s.
The woman told VG she had received several mysterious calls during the past year from people asking for a man with an Arabic-sounding name. She said the frequency of calls picked up dramatically in the past three weeks.
She said she was shocked when VG, which had obtained the unlisted number, called Wednesday night asking for an Abu Mahmud, a name tied to the number. She then tried calling the number from her mobile telephone, only to discover that it indeed rang on her ground line at home.
She then called police. Within an hour, the unlisted number had been disconnected.
Neither Norwegian police or the economic crimes unit that's been investigating Krekar would comment on whether they're working with Spanish investigators on any local leads they have.
Norwegian phone company Telenor told VG that they couldn't say who has been paying the bill for the unlisted numer.
Police reportedly have earlier searched for a man in Norway who was tied to the guerrilla organization Krekar led in northern Iraq, Ansar Al Islam. US investigators have claimed that Ansar Al Islam is linked to terror network al-Qaida.
At the top of seized telephone list, which included Krekar and his brother Khalid Faraj Ahmad, was a number for Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, who is now under arrest in Spain. Spanish police believe he led an al-Qaida cell from Madrid that helped plan the terrorist attacks in the US in 2001.
The list was found in a flat belonging to Islamic extremist Mohamed Maher Halak. Yarkas allegedly tried to arrange for Halak to set up a new base in Norway.
