Officials in the United States claim they have evidence that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda fighters loyal to the ousted Taliban regime in war-stricken Afghanistan may be attempting to regroup in neighboring Pakistan.
A report in the Wednesday issue of The New York Times describes intercepted e-mail messages and other Internet traffic, including new Web sites, as indications of an effort exerted to reorganize.
According to sources, Bush administration officials were angered by the report, fearing it may assist terrorists establish U.S. intelligence gathering techniques.
CNN contacted U.S. government sources Wednesday, however they would not confirm the ways by which communications might possibly be monitored, but an official told the American network, "We see indications al Qaeda may be trying to regroup in Pakistan with a view to then heading back into Afghanistan."
He added that the gatherings are "not on a grand scale," and the newspaper report, in his viewpoint, "overstates" what is known about any movements of al Qaeda fighters. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
