9/11 Panel Says Iraq Rebuffed Bin Laden
Posted on: Wednesday, 16 June 2004, 06:00 CDT
WASHINGTON - The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reported Wednesday that Osama bin Laden met with a top Iraqi official in 1994 but found "no credible evidence" of a link between Iraq and al-Qaida in attacks against the United States.
In a report based on research and interviews by the commission staff, the panel said that bin Laden explored possible cooperation with Saddam even though he opposed the Iraqi leader's secular regime.
A senior Iraqi intelligence official reportedly met with bin Laden in 1994 in Sudan, the panel found, and bin Laden "is said to have requested space to establish training camps, as well as assistance in procuring weapons, but Iraq apparently never responded."
"There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida also occurred after bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan, but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship," the report said. "Two senior Bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq."
Related Articles
- Iraq, U.S., Hit Al-Qaida in Iraq
- Bin Laden Warns Iraq Sunnis Not to Fight
- Bin Laden Urges Iraq Insurgents to Unite
- Bin Laden Appears in New al-Qaida Video
- Bin Laden warns Iraq Shi'ites after bomb kills 62
- Bin Laden says Iraq Shi'ites could face retaliation
- Fighting Between Iraqi Army Units Kills 2
- Soldier killed in clash between Iraqi army units
- Rift Grows Between al-Qaida, Muslim Groups
- US Troops Launch Offensive in Western Iraq Against Al-Qaida in Iraq
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds