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Ayman wuz in New Zealand in the 1990s
Al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, visited New Zealand and Australia in 1996 to recruit militants, his biographer was quoted as telling an Australian newspaper today. Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir makes the claim in a yet-to-be televised interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television, parts of which were disclosed in reports today. "In those days, in early 1996, he was on a mission to organise his network all over the world," Mir said. Mir said al-Zawahiri told him he travelled to New Zealand to "meet some of his people", then went on to Australia and Indonesia. The Weekend Australian said Mir claimed al-Zawahiri, a 52-year-old bespectacled Egyptian surgeon, had visited New Zealand twice. New Zealand police counter-terrorism boss Assistant Commissioner Jon White told NZPA today systems had been checked since Mir's claim. "We have no verification that al-Zawahiri visited this country under that name, or any of the other names he uses. But naturally, we are interested to know if there are any more details available from the writer (Mir)."
| "It's not that important, though, so don't rush. We're busy managing the economy here." |
Mr White understood Mir was about to publish a biography of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden early next week, in which his claims were included. "We'll be looking at that." Mr White was confident the New Zealand checks had been carried out properly, but admitted it was possible al-Zawahiri had entered under a new name. "If we were given a name to check, that could certainly be done in very short order," he said. Mir told The Weekend Australian that al-Zawahiri travelled around the world at the time as a businessman on a false passport, "often using Christian names".
| "Bob Zawahiri"? "Ayman W. Jones"? |
"He told me he stopped for a while in Darwin (in northern Australia), he was ... looking for help and collecting funds," the newspaper reported. But Mr White said no details had been verified. "It's difficult to speculate, but it's not an unknown thing for a network such as al Qaeda to look to other countries to either raise funds or recruit people." New Zealand authorities would work with Australian colleagues on the matter, he said. Australia's attorney-general, Philip Ruddock, said the government could not rule out the possibility that al-Zawahiri visited Australia in the 1990s, but not under his own name.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-03-20 |
