U.S. seeks deportation of terrorists, refuses to swap for detainees in Iraq
Douglas Jehl, New York Times Saturday, August 2, 2003
Washington -- Iran has taken into custody the third-ranking member of al Qaeda, Saif Al Adel, U.S. officials said on Friday, but has rebuffed an initial American effort to have him and other top al Qaeda figures handed over to Washington.
American and Middle Eastern officials said Iran has signaled that any surrender of al Qaeda figures to the United States should be matched by a surrender to Tehran of members of the Mujahedeen Khalq, an Iranian opposition group that is on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. Many of that group's members are in camps under American military supervision in Iraq.
An American official said the United States made "a recent approach" to Iran through a third party to ask that Adel and other al Qaeda figures be handed over. But that American offer did not include any proposed swap, and the United States "did not receive a positive response," the American official said.
American intelligence officials believe that within the al Qaeda hierarchy, Adel, a former Egyptian military officer, now ranks behind only Osama bin Laden, the organization's leader, and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the deputy chief. Officials in Saudi Arabia have said they believe he played a role from a base in Iran in orchestrating the May 12 bombings in Riyadh that killed 35 people, including nine Americans.
Adel is also wanted by the United States in connection with the August 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 200 people. The FBI has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture and conviction.
<SNIP>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/02/MN226155.DTL 
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
