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FBI Says Agents Stopped New Attacks
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Fox News
The Associated Press contributed to this report

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
Interrogating detained Al Qaeda terrorists at the U.S. military base in Kandahar has prevented new attacks against U.S. targets worldwide, the FBI director said Wednesday.

Robert Mueller made an unannounced visit to the base, the largest concentration of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. As many as 400 Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners have been held at the base since the Taliban regime collapsed under attack by U.S.-led forces in November.

"Information we have picked up since the war has prevented additional attacks around the world," Mueller said. "Interrogations from Al Qaeda members detained here in Afghanistan as well as documents ... has prevented additional attacks against U.S. facilities around the world."

Mueller ate a lunch of Afghan chicken and rice with FBI agents who are here to interrogate detainees. They are the first agents deployed in a combat zone.

Mueller refused to give details on what attacks may have been prevented. But Singapore authorities last month arrested suspects they said were plotting attacks against the U.S. Embassy and other targets, based partly on intelligence picked up from Afghanistan.
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Dan