Report: U.S. special forces have entered Afghanistan
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, October 30, 2000
NICOSIA — Saudi billionaire Osama Bin Laden, suspected of
masterminding the suicide bombing on the USS Cole in Yemen, is bracing for a
U.S. military attack.
Arab diplomatic sources said U.S. special forces have crossed into Afghanistan
and are preparing for an attack on Bin Laden's hideout. Some of the sources
said at least one suspected Bin Laden base has been rocketed, Middle East Newsline reported.
Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported that five Bin Laden
bases have been attacked by the United States. Afghan's ruling Taliban
movement, which provides shelter to Bin Laden, has denied the attacks.
"There has been no rocket attack in Kabul, Kandhar, Jalalabad or any
other part of Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Abdul Hayee Motameen told the
Afghan Islamic Press agency. "Any report of such attack is a lie."
Bin Laden is suspected of masterminding and financing the Oct. 12 attack
on the USS Cole. FBI investigators are currently in Yemen gathering evidence
on the bombing and questioning suspects.
Earlier this year, Arab diplomatic sources reported that U.S. security
personnel had recruited a mercenary force to track down Bin Laden. Pakistani
Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar his government would not allow a U.S. attack
from its territory. Pakistan is one of three countries that recognize the
Taliban government.