BEN LADEN WAS IN IRAN, PREPARING NEW TERRORIST OPERATIONS

Iran Press Service ^ | 6.25.2003 | Ahmad Ra’fat

[DoctorZIn]

ROME 25 June (IPS) Master terrorist Osama Ben Laden was in Iran during the month of May, where he has meeting with at least seven high-ranking members of al-Qa’eda, discussing details of organising terrorist operations in several European countries as well as against American and British interests, according to the Italian military intelligence SISMI.

In a secret report to the Italian government and the Parliament’s National Security Committee, the SISMI says that Mr. Ben Laden, alleged to have masterminded several daring terrorist operations against the United States, including the 11 September attacks on New York’s World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon in Washington D. C., had left his base in Afghanistan for Iran days before the 11 September operations, that killed more than 3.500 people.

As a result of the 11 September operations, in which three passenger planes hijacked by highly trained members of the al-Qa’eda crushed on the World Trade Center towers and on the Pentagon, the United States attacked Afghanistan and toppled the Islamist fundamentalist Taleban government that had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’eda, but its search for Osama Ben laden, a Saudi national, has so far remained unsuccessful.

Though there were reports that some of Mr. Ben Laden’s family were hiding in Iran, however, this is the first time that a European secret service has located the network’s boss.

Iran has always denied any link with al-Qa’eda and rejected as "baseless" allegations that Ben Laden was hiding in Iran, but at the same time admitted that up to five hundred members of the network who had crossed the porous Iran borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan had been detained, some of them handed over to the countries they had their passports, including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Belgium or Italy.

Details of the report, under study by the Italian government, the Parliament and the Senate, are sketchy, but a source close to the opposition Ulivo coalition at the Parliament has confirmed the report, stopping short of revealing more details due to the secret nature of the document.

"Though I can not tell more on the details of the report, but I can confirm that based on what our security organisation has stated in the report, firstly Osama Ben Laden is alive and secondly he has left Afghanistan, hiding in another country that could be the Islamic Republic of Iran", he said, confirming that al-Qa’eda planned terrorist operations in Italy.

"Mr. Ben laden was seen in the Islamic Republic, more precisely in Tehran in May, where he met with seven members of the network, planning attacks on American and British interests, but also some European and Asian countries like Italia, Pakistan and Turkey", the SISMI reported.

According to the report, in order to facilitate their travel to Europe, some of the al-Qa’eda members have been provided with Iranian passports using different names, the SISMI warns, naming two members as Khaled Amin and Moosa Jaber. ENDS IRAN AL-QAEDA 25603

[DoctorZIn]

He does get around....

[mhking]

Elvis has left the building...

[DoctorZIn]

Thought you might find this interesting...

BEN LADEN WAS IN IRAN, PREPARING NEW TERRORIST OPERATIONS
Iran Press Service ^ | 6.25.2003 | Ahmad Ra’fat
Posted on 06/25/2003 5:26 PM PDT by DoctorZIn

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/935595/posts

"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail me”

[demsux]

Kind of like a noose around the neck. If in Iran, Bush is brilliant...we've got him surrounded.

Also, W already told us that Iran is on our list.

Beautiful...

[Dog]

fyi..

[backhoe]

Locator ^... dropping offline on a few minutes, will pick this up later.

[InvisibleChurch]

but where is bin laden ... i think ben is a cousin who works down to the bomb factory

[Angelus Errare]

I've been saying this for awhile. Jacob, you have the FReepMail in question to prove it ;)

He's probably holed up at that damned "hunting lodge" out in Kerman province with his lieutenants, protected by the IRGC.

[DoctorZIn]

Sound like a possibility to me as well.

[blam]

Does anyone know how reliable is the SISMI.
Italy has been 'kicking butt' with the Radical Islamists in Italy.

[Dog]

Maybe all the recent attacks in Iraq recently directed at us by Saddam supporters are really AQ attacks.

[Tamzee]

Bin Laden in Iran... why am I not surprised?

Thanks for the heads-up!

[Angelus Errare]

Ping

[Dog]

Italy just took down a cell in Milan I wonder if this report is based on intel gathered from that raid..

[YoungKentuckyConservative]

I hear war drums beating for Iran. The noise is steadily growing less and less faint, week by week. 2004?

[f.Christian]

Just prior to 9 - 1 - 1 ...

castro was in iran saying they were going to bring America down on it's knees !

[Angelus Errare]

Actually, Robert (ganeshpuri89) and I have figured that for awhile:

http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=486

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/172/nation/Islamic_militants_may_be_regrouping+.shtml

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SA1003

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MewNews/message/12993

[BOBTHENAILER]

He's probably holed up at that damned "hunting lodge" out in Kerman province with his lieutenants, protected by the IRGC.

The hunting lodge occupants need to meet Mr. JDAM, and his cousins Mr. Cruise and Ms. Hellfire.

[Normal4me]

Wasn't there just a story about Iran turning over some al-queda over to Saudi? Hmmmmm.....

[Angelus Errare]

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2980763

The cell the Italians busted worked for the GSPC.

http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=450

One of the major GSPC leader is Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who runs their leadership council in Niger:

http://windsofchange.net/archives/003621.html

Belmokhtar got a message from bin Laden back in December:

http://www.albawaba.com/news/index.php3?sid=237623&lang=e&dir=news

Depending on how high up in the food chain the GSPC cell was, they might have known where the guys who delivered the message to their boss was from.