U.S. increases security in advance of attack on Bin Laden

NICOSIA -- The United States has ordered increased security for U.S. diplomatic installations and their personnel around Pakistan as U.S. forces prepare to attack Osama Bin Laden.

Diplomatic sources said Washington has asked Islamabad for help in protecting the U.S. embassy in the Pakistani capital. They said the Pakistani government has agreed and police have beefed up security at U.S. installations.

The sources said the United States is set to attack Bin Laden bases in Afghanistan. They said U.S. special forces have completed training in the area and are ready to land in Afghanistan in a search-and-destroy operation.

The U.S. fear is that Bin Laden will respond with widespread attacks throughout Asia and Africa. But the sources said the first attacks could focus in Pakistan.

U.S. ambassador to Pakistan William B. Millam arranged two special briefings for the US citizens in Islamabad and the Pakistanis working for the U.S. government on the threats, the sources said.

On Friday, Michael Sheehan, nominated to be the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that his most pressing priority would be to capture and prosecute Bin Laden.

A second priority would be to continue pressure on what he termed key state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran and Syria and groups as Hizbullah.

On Sunday, the London-based Sunday Experss reported that three men were arrested in connection with the seizure of materials that could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The newspaper said authorities seized 20 tons of aluminium in the container terminal on the Isle of Grain, Kent, tracked from the United States on its way to Dubai.

Intelligence reports believed the material was destined for Pakistan, the newspaper said. Officials refused comment.

Last week, Kazakhstan customs officials detained a Russian officer who was attempting to smuggle radioactive materials into Uzbekistan. The Itar-Tass news agency said the material was used as a power source for nuclear reactors, came from the Baikonur space center.