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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