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French terror suspect reveals Laden link
A Muslim militant in French custody has confessed that he was plotting an attack on the US Embassy in Paris and was recruited by a top deputy of Osama Bin Laden, judicial officials said on Tuesday.
A Muslim militant in French custody has confessed that he was plotting an attack on the US Embassy in Paris and was recruited by a top deputy of Osama Bin Laden, judicial officials said on Tuesday.
Djamel Beghal, 35, a French-Algerian, was placed under formal investigation on Monday evening, a step short of formal charges, for alleged criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise, the judicial officials said on customary anonymity.
He had been extradited on Sunday from the United Arab Emirates, where he was questioned by French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere.
Beghal spent 11 hours speaking to Bruguiere in a Paris court on Monday, during which he outlined the plot for a suicide mission against the US Embassy in Paris and also against an American cultural center.
According to the plan, he told the judge, another man - Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian who was arrested on September 13 in Belgium - was to penetrate the embassy, strapped with explosives. Also, a minivan packed with explosives was to explode outside the cultural center in central Paris, he said.
Beghal told the judge that he had signed a "pact" with Abu Zubaydah, Bin Laden's deputy, during a trip to Afghanistan in March.
Europe-1 radio reported that Abu Zubaydah, meeting with Beghal at Bin Laden's home, "told me that the time to act had come. He asked me if I was ready and I said yes."
The report quoted the judicial document outlining Beghal's confession in Dubai. It further said that officials in Dubai had obtained Beghal's confession by calling in religious leaders to convince him that the right thing to do was reveal the plot.
Beghal's job in the plot, the report said, was to gather information and study the embassy's security plans.
Beghal was the second person extradited to France in two days in connection with the plot. Kamel Daoudi, 27, also a French-Algerian, was extradited from Britain on Saturday. Radio reports have said that the two were related.
An investigation into the plot was opened in France on September 10 - a day before the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Bruguiere traveled last week to the United Arab Emirates to question Beghal.
Authorities have now tied Beghal to others arrested in the Netherlands, where four people have been arrested, and in Belgium, where two arrests were made.
In addition, six Algerians arrested in Spain and ordered held without bail on Friday had direct links with others arrested in Europe in connection with the plot to attack US interests on the continent, Spanish officials said.
Bureau Report
Djamel Beghal, 35, a French-Algerian, was placed under formal investigation on Monday evening, a step short of formal charges, for alleged criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise, the judicial officials said on customary anonymity.
He had been extradited on Sunday from the United Arab Emirates, where he was questioned by French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere.
Beghal spent 11 hours speaking to Bruguiere in a Paris court on Monday, during which he outlined the plot for a suicide mission against the US Embassy in Paris and also against an American cultural center.
According to the plan, he told the judge, another man - Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian who was arrested on September 13 in Belgium - was to penetrate the embassy, strapped with explosives. Also, a minivan packed with explosives was to explode outside the cultural center in central Paris, he said.
Beghal told the judge that he had signed a "pact" with Abu Zubaydah, Bin Laden's deputy, during a trip to Afghanistan in March.
Europe-1 radio reported that Abu Zubaydah, meeting with Beghal at Bin Laden's home, "told me that the time to act had come. He asked me if I was ready and I said yes."
The report quoted the judicial document outlining Beghal's confession in Dubai. It further said that officials in Dubai had obtained Beghal's confession by calling in religious leaders to convince him that the right thing to do was reveal the plot.
Beghal's job in the plot, the report said, was to gather information and study the embassy's security plans.
Beghal was the second person extradited to France in two days in connection with the plot. Kamel Daoudi, 27, also a French-Algerian, was extradited from Britain on Saturday. Radio reports have said that the two were related.
An investigation into the plot was opened in France on September 10 - a day before the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Bruguiere traveled last week to the United Arab Emirates to question Beghal.
Authorities have now tied Beghal to others arrested in the Netherlands, where four people have been arrested, and in Belgium, where two arrests were made.
In addition, six Algerians arrested in Spain and ordered held without bail on Friday had direct links with others arrested in Europe in connection with the plot to attack US interests on the continent, Spanish officials said.
Bureau Report