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Terror report: Bin Laden has infiltrated Palestinian Authority

Middle East Newsline
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, May 4, 2001

Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden has increased links to Middle East terrorist groups as part of an effort to raise his profile in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

A new State Department report on global terrorism said Bin Laden agents have infiltrated the Palestinian Authority and the surrounding region such as Jordan and Lebanon. The report, entitled "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2000," said Bin Laden's Al Qaida network provided money and training to terrorist groups to ensure attacks against Israeli and U.S. interests.

"Al Qaida and its affiliates especially used their ability to provide money and training as leverage to establish ties to and build the terrorist capabilities of a variety of small Middle Eastern terrorist groups such as the Lebanese Asbat al-Ansar," the report said.

The State Department linked the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden to militants trained by Bin Laden. The report said those linked to Bin Laden are believed to have sponsored efforts to attack U.S. installations in the Gulf.

The State Department cited Lebanon as a major arena for Bin Laden. The report said Bin Laden works with other groups to pose threats to U.S. interests.

The report said U.S. allies in the Middle East have increased efforts to block terrorist threats. The State Department cited Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.

Lebanese authorities have also arrested Bin Laden agents, the report said.

Israel, the report said, arrested a suspected Bin Laden militant last summer. The report cited Israeli assertions that Nabil Awkil, with links to Hamas as well, was trained in Bin Ladin-affiliated camps in Afghanistan before returning to the West Bank and Gaza to establish terrorist cells.

Friday, May 4, 2001


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