ANKARA Ñ The United States and its allies are successfully foiling Al Qaida
plans to resume insurgency attacks against the West, a leading official
said.
State Department counter-terrorism chief Francis Taylor told a news conference in Ankara that Al Qaida has
sustained a loss of key cells sent to organize attacks, Middle East Newsline reported.
"We are disrupting their networks," Taylor
said. "We have disrupted plans for attacks
and we will continue to work to do that."
Taylor was in Ankara for a three-day regional conference on
counter-terrorism. The gathering, which ended on Wednesday, was closed to
press coverage and included envoys from Central Asia, including Afghanistan.
Morocco has captured at least three Al Qaida cells suspected of
planning a series of suicide attacks in the kingdom as well as in the
western Mediterranean. The latest cell was captured earlier this week.
"We are focusing on how nations can work together on closing the seams
that terrorists operate in around the world and particularly in this
region," Taylor said.
In Washington, congressional leaders agreed with Taylor's assessment.
Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee on Wednesday that Al Qaida intends to continue to stage low-level
insurgency attacks against Western targets.
"Incidents like the bombing of a Tunisian synagogue and French and
American targets in Karachi do not have the profile or drama of past
military clashes in Afghanistan," Lugar said. "But Al Qaida attacks are
likely to occur at any time and almost anywhere, including Afghanistan."
