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China paid Laden for access to Cruise missiles
China paid suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden several million dollars for access to unexploded US cruise missiles following an attack on his bases three years ago, according to a newspaper report in London on Saturday.
China paid suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden several million dollars for access to unexploded US cruise missiles following an attack on his bases three years ago, according to a newspaper report in London on Saturday.
The newspaper reported that an alleged senior agent of bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Europe told an associate, in a secretly taped conversation, that Chinese businessmen had paid $10 million to study the missiles.
Bin Laden is the prime suspect of the September 11 terrorist assault on New York and Washington which claimed the lives of some 5,500 people. Following the 1998 attack, carried out in reprisal for the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, reports suggesting China had acquired two unexploded Tomahawk missiles were attacked as "groundless" by Beijing, the broadsheet said.
The report came the day after US President George W. Bush, in a joint press conference with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, welcomed the Asian nation's "firm commitment" to the war on terrorism, although Beijing has yet to explicitly endorse the US-led campaign.
The report said that on March 9, a 32-year-old Libyan terrorist suspect met the head of al-Qaeda's Italian cell, Sami Ben Khemais, in a Milan flat and told him of China's involvement in the missiles.
The suspect, who was arrested in Munich on Wednesday at the request of the Italian authorities in connection with al-Qaeda, told ben Khemais: "With these weapons, he (bin Laden) has boosted his financial resources. From every part of the world businessmen who hate Americans have come to study American missile strategy.
The newspaper reported that an alleged senior agent of bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Europe told an associate, in a secretly taped conversation, that Chinese businessmen had paid $10 million to study the missiles.
Bin Laden is the prime suspect of the September 11 terrorist assault on New York and Washington which claimed the lives of some 5,500 people. Following the 1998 attack, carried out in reprisal for the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, reports suggesting China had acquired two unexploded Tomahawk missiles were attacked as "groundless" by Beijing, the broadsheet said.
The report came the day after US President George W. Bush, in a joint press conference with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, welcomed the Asian nation's "firm commitment" to the war on terrorism, although Beijing has yet to explicitly endorse the US-led campaign.
The report said that on March 9, a 32-year-old Libyan terrorist suspect met the head of al-Qaeda's Italian cell, Sami Ben Khemais, in a Milan flat and told him of China's involvement in the missiles.
The suspect, who was arrested in Munich on Wednesday at the request of the Italian authorities in connection with al-Qaeda, told ben Khemais: "With these weapons, he (bin Laden) has boosted his financial resources. From every part of the world businessmen who hate Americans have come to study American missile strategy.
"In particular, businessmen have come from China. He works a great deal with China. He's got good relations with them," added the suspect, named ben Heni by the paper.
The newspaper said that unknown to the two men, the flat had been bugged by Italian anti-terrorist officers.
Bureau Report