Soon after US Secretary of State Colin Powell called Osama bin Laden's claim to have nuclear weapons a "wild boast," the Pentagon announced that US forces had bombed several sites in Afghanistan that could have been involved in producing chemical, biological or radiological weapons,said reports.
US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday that while some suspected sites had been hit, other such facilities had been left alone, and others likely remained undiscovered, according to AP.
"If we had good information on a chemical or biological development area, we would do something about it," Rumsfeld said on CBS' Face the Nation, cited by the agency. "It is not an easy thing to do. We have every desire in the world to prevent the terrorists from using these capabilities."
On Saturday, US President George W. Bush warned nations that the threat of global terrorism might soon include nuclear weapons and urged them to intensify their support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism, according to Reuters.
Bush said Saturday evening he did not know whether bin Laden already had such weapons. "The only thing I know certain about him is that he's evil," the agency quoted him as saying.
The New York Times reported Sunday that the United States had identified three possible chemical or biological weapons sites in Afghanistan used by bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, and had up to that point avoided bombing them.
The US launched its war on Afghanistan after blaming dissident Saudi leader Osama bin Laden for the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The Pakistani newspaper Dawn on Saturday carried an interview with bin Laden in which he allegedly said he had obtained nuclear and chemical weapons and reserved the right to use them if the United States did first - Albawaba.com
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