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To: Nexus
All bones, no meat

(CNN) -- A statement attributed to Osama bin Laden praises attacks on U.S. Marines in Kuwait and a French supertanker off Yemen and warns Western powers to "stop their aggression on us and their support to our enemies."

The statement follows a string of attacks authorities suspect were the work of bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

In addition, investigators on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali suspect that Islamic extremists with ties to al Qaeda are responsible for Saturday night's nightclub bombings that killed at least 187 people. The death toll was expected to rise Monday, as authorities said more than 200 people were missing.

"We are sure al Qaeda is here. The Bali bomb blasts are related to al Qaeda, with the cooperation of local terrorists," Indonesia's defense minister said Monday. (More on the Bali bombings)

The statement purported to be from bin Laden appears on an Internet site which has been associated in the past with al Qaeda. The Qatar-based Arabic language network Al Jazeera said it received a copy of the statement bearing bin Laden's signature. The authenticity of the signature could not be independently verified.

"We congratulate the Islamic Nation on the bold heroic jihad operations that her children ... the mujahedeen in Yemen against the crusader's oil tanker and in Kuwait against the enemy troops and the American occupation," bin Laden is quoted as saying in the statement.

One U.S. Marine was killed and another wounded Tuesday when gunmen opened fire on them during maneuvers on Failaka Island, off Kuwait City in the Persian Gulf. Kuwaiti officials have said the gunmen have ties to al Qaeda.

The following day, Kuwaiti civilians overtook a military Humvee outside Kuwait City and pointed a weapon at two U.S. service members, who then fired into the civilian vehicle, military sources said.

U.S. officials reported another attack on U.S. military units training with Kuwaiti forces Monday. Gunshots were fired at the troops from two civilian vehicles, but the fire was not returned and there were no injuries reported, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said.

The French tanker Limburg was set ablaze October 6 in the Gulf of Aden, off Yemen. Yemeni officials discounted terrorism at first, but French officials said last week the 332-meter (1,089-foot) ship was damaged in a bombing similar to the one that crippled the destroyer USS Cole in October 2000, killing 17 U.S. sailors.

"By hitting the oil tanker in Yemen, the mujahedeen hit the secret line, the provision line and the feeding to the artery of the life of the crusader's nation," the statement said.

"They reminded the enemies of the heaviness of the blood bill and the enormity of losses, that they will pay a high price to the continuation of their aggression on our nation and their plunder to our good and our wealth."
15 posted on 10/14/2002 7:27:12 AM PDT by Nexus
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To: Nexus
The Qatar-based Arabic language network Al Jazeera said it received a copy of the statement bearing bin Laden's signature. The authenticity of the signature could not be independently verified.

Al Jazerra verified the authenticity of the signature, it pointed out that indeed the statement was signed by Benjamin Laden!

/sarcasm>

42 posted on 10/14/2002 11:56:30 AM PDT by F-117A
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