The Sunday Telegraph, an influential British newspaper, has claimed that Osama bin Laden received visits from Taliban leaders and wealthy Arab supporters while he was hiding out in a fortified compound in Abbottabad. The revelation that the al Qaeda chief had direct contact with his followers – and did not rely solely on messengers – came as a US-led task force urgently trawled captured documents and computer files for terror plots and information about extremists.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, an Afghan Taliban commander, who has previously provided reliable information to foreign media, disclosed that he had visited bin Laden in Abbottabad while the Saudi terror chief also received sporadic visits from leaders of his al-Qaeda network, Taliban allies and fellow Arab fundraisers. The disclosure will be crucial for Western intelligence chiefs as they try and assess bin Laden’s role in international terror operations.
They had initially believed that his contact with the outside world was conducted via messages on computer thumb drives. When the commander, who asked not to be named, last saw bin Laden in Abbottabad two years ago, he seemed healthy and well briefed on recent developments, but concerned about his safety and money, the newspaper said.
Bin Laden confided that he had to continue to meet top aides because so many senior lieutenants had been captured or killed. “He said he had no choice but to be active and meet people, despite the security risks,” The Sunday Telegraph quoted the Taliban leader as saying. “He was meeting with other top al Qaeda leaders who could get access to Abbottabad without endangering their safety.”
The report will once again focus attention on how bin Laden managed to live apparently undetected by the Pakistani authorities for several years less than a mile from the country’s top military academy. The newspaper also claimed that Britain was one of six countries – along with the US, Canada, Israel, Germany and Spain – identified as a target for terror strikes in the intelligence haul. Officials did not disclose specific plots or threats.
But findings forced British intelligence agents to join their US counterparts last week to sift through the material after repeated references to Britain were found in the seized record. The leading British newspaper also said that as US and European domestic security officials step up counter-terror operations amid concerns of a ‘lone wolf’ or terror cell revenge attacks to avenge bin Laden’s killing, Pakistan’s intelligence services have withdrawn co-operation with their American counterparts.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate’s agents are refusing to share details of suspects or plots in protest at the US operation to kill bin Laden, raising the potential threat of attacks on Western cities, it added.
