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| Iraq |
| Al-Qaeda fighting with Iraqis, British claim |
| 2003-03-27 |
| British military interrogators claim captured Iraqi soldiers have told them that al-Qaeda terrorists are fighting on the side of Saddam Hussein's forces against allied troops near Basra. At least a dozen members of Osama bin Laden's network are in the town of Az Zubayr where they are coordinating grenade and gun attacks on coalition positions. It was believed that last night (Thursday) British forces were preparing a military strike on the base where the al-Qaeda unit was understood to be holed up. A senior British military source inside Iraq said: "The information we have received from PoWs today is that an al-Qaeda cell may be operating in Az Zubayr. There are possibly around a dozen of them and that is obviously a matter of concern to us." If terrorists are found, it would be the first proof of a direct link between Saddam's regime and Osama bin Laden. The connection would give credibility to the argument that Tony Blair used to justify war against Saddam — a "nightmare scenario" in which he might eventually pass weapons of mass destruction to terrorists. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #7 The Scotsman is an extremely reliable newspaper; just the facts, most of the time. They also seem to have reporters with extensive knowledge and incredible sources. MB has been using their stuff for well over a year, now. |
| Posted by: MommaBear 2003-03-27 21:04:21 |
| #6 SMH, as I gather from the inimitable Tim Blair Not that it wouldn't be easy to backpedal, what with all the "claim," "believe," and "if" going around. |
| Posted by: (lowercase) matt 2003-03-27 20:50:58 |
| #5 Hmm. Perhaps that's why the British are on the East flank. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-27 19:44:28 |
| #4 Have you seen this picture? Same story though. http://www.hk94.com/weblog |
| Posted by: Tall King 2003-03-27 19:02:50 |
| #3 The cockroaches have crawled out from under the outhouses. Welcome back you al-Qaeda slim. We had reason to believe you were visiting Uncle Saddam. Oh yes, I know...you esacaped the Great Satan in Tora Bora in one piece. Round Two is about to begin. Place your bets. |
| Posted by: Mark 2003-03-27 18:57:17 |
| #2 At the bottom of the article: This is a pooled despatch from Gethin Chamberlain of The Scotsman. --- Is he or hhis paper reliable? |
| Posted by: growler 2003-03-27 18:21:12 |
| #1 Have you seen this picture? Same story though. http://www.hk94.com/weblog |
| Posted by: Tall King 3/27/2003 7:02:50 PM |