Following Albawaba exclusive report on the issue, The Washington Post and the British Times said al-Qaeda members have been spotted in Lebanon and Palestinian Gaza Strip last month.
The Times of London said a Yemeni man, a Bin Laden lieutenant identified as "Salah Hajer," traveled to Lebanon and held meetings with the Lebanese Resistance party Hizbullah and the radical Sunni Usbat al-Ansar, a group identified with Osama Bin Laden.
U.S. sources told The Washington Post the influx of al Qaeda fugitives from Afghanistan into Lebanon was the subject of an extraordinary, closed-door briefing held by the chief of the Israeli intelligence service, Maj. Gen. Zeev Farkash, for members of defense and foreign-affairs committees of the Israeli parliament.
U.S. officials are also concerned that many al Qaeda fighters are escaping Afghanistan through Pakistan disguised as pilgrims to Mecca during the Haj, an annual event where millions of Muslims from around the world converge on Islam's holiest sites. This year's Haj begins later this month. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
