| PRESIDENT Saddam Hussein imported hundreds of well-trained Islamic guerrillas before the war to spearhead his fight against American and British forces, The Times has learnt. Documents and captives seized by British troops in Basra reveal that the recruits were arriving in Baghdad from Muslim countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen as little as ten days before the war began. They came to wage jihad against the Western military, and provided some of the fiercest resistance as the coalition advanced northwards. Survivors are still mounting occasional attacks in Baghdad and other cities. US officials are seizing on the guerrillasâ presence as evidence of links between Saddam and Osama bin Ladenâs al-Qaeda terrorist organisation â links that the Bush Administration has long cited as a justification for the war. The foreign fighters provide a âdirect tie between Saddam Hussein and terrorist organisationsâ, a Pentagon spokeswoman said last night. |