/ 13 September 2001

FBI ON OSAMA BIN LADEN?S TRAIL

THE US Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked the Indian government to provide details of all known and suspected activities of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden in India, a report said on Thursday. The Times of India quoted official sources as saying a formal request letter had been received from the FBI on Wednesday evening. In June this year, Delhi police said they had unearthed a plot to blow up the visa section of the US Embassy in New Delhi. The police said the operation had been masterminded by a close confidant of Bin Laden, who currently heads the list of suspects in Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in the United States. Apart from the bombing, the terrorists were allegedly also tasked with motivating and recruiting engineers and scientists to work for bin Laden. ”The operation was well funded and well planned,” the ,Times quoted one source as saying. ”Besides we learned that it was to be part of a series of attacks on US establishments towards the end of August.” India has already pledged full cooperation with the US investigation into the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon. ?We stand ready to cooperate with you in the investigations into this crime and to strengthen our partnership in leading international efforts to ensure that terrorism never succeeds again,” Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said in a letter to US President George Bush. – Sapa-AFP