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| The Alliance |
| Brits arrest Masoon assassination accomplice |
| 2001-10-29 |
LONDON -- In Egypt, Yasser al-Sirri is a wanted man, convicted in absentia for a terrorist bombing plot that inadvertently killed a 12-year-old girl. In Britain for the past eight years, he has found freedom and safety. And, despite the death sentence hanging over him, he has been anything but anonymous. Al-Sirri, 38, founded the Islamic Observation Center and fashioned himself as a supporter of master terrorist Osama bin Laden. His statements, pamphlets and press releases, though, always fell within Britain's right to free speech. Even after Sept. 11, when al-Sirri posted bin Laden's threats of further attacks on his Web site, he drew little attention. But his protected life in Britain changed last week. London police arrested al-Sirri on Tuesday during a dawn raid on his apartment and nearby office. Police say there is evidence that al-Sirri helped arrange press credentials for two bin Laden operatives, who, posing as a television crew, assassinated Gen. Ahmed Shah Massood, the leader of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, on Sept. 1, just days before terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Al-Sirri's arrest may signal the beginning of the British government's promised crackdown on known or suspected terrorists. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |