|
Bin Laden 'in Yemen'
British special forces are searching for Osama bin Laden in Yemen after new intelligence has surfaced revealing that the al-Qa'eda leader fled Afghanistan last year and is being protected by tribesmen in his ancestral homeland. The Telegraph has learnt that the focus of the world's biggest manhunt has dramatically shifted over the past few weeks from Afghanistan and Pakistan's border areas to the lawless tribal region of Hadhra Maug in south-east Yemen, where bin Laden's father was born. American officials said on Friday that they had captured a high ranking al-Qa'eda official in the region whom they would not name but described as "among the top dozen", suggesting that the noose might be tightening around the al-Qa'eda leader. Six other al-Qa'eda members were killed in a rocket attack by an unmanned Predator drone two weeks ago. ...it is thought that he fled Afghanistan last November travelling along opium traffickers' routes through eastern Iran then down through the desert of Baluchistan in Pakistan to the port of Gwador, an area mostly off-limits to foreigners. He is then thought to have travelled by traditional dhow across the Arabian Sea to Oman and on to Yemen and the protection of the tribesmen of the Hadhra Maug, who are fiercely loyal to his family and have long waged war with the government in Sana'a. An American official admitted to The Telegraph, "we left too many windows. We could not seal the border with Pakistan and we failed to monitor shipping particularly in those early days". We can't seal the border with Pakistan now. The new evidence came to light among thousands of documents captured by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, during raids on buildings used by Hamas, the Islamic militants, and Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah, on the West Bank, in late March. We find Osama based on memos in Arafat's office. Well, blow me down!. Maybe the Israelis got their hands on a disgruntled office worker. "And another thing, Bob, lemme tell you something about TPS reports." Posted by: Pete S. 2002-11-16 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=7871 |