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War in Afghanistan has Scattered al-Qaida to Other Countries, U.S. Says
Saturday, June 15, 2002
(5:35 PM ET)
By John J. Lumpkin
Associated Press Writer

Of these surviving card-carrying al-Qaida operatives, many have gone to Pakistan, officials said. Some are in the cities, including the operatives who worked with American Jose Padilla in Lahore and Karachi before his capture in Chicago. Others are believed to be in the remote tribal belt of Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON -- AP
Al-Qaida's loss of its sanctuary in Afghanistan has led to an increase in extremist activity in other countries, as Osama bin Laden's scattered operatives turn to foreign affiliates to plan new terrorist attacks, a Bush administration official said Saturday.

"They've been forced to scatter or hunker down," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "They are trying to adapt and accommodate as best they can."

The official said coordination across the al-Qaida network of affiliates appears limited -- that surviving al-Qaida operatives are simply turning to their only remaining option to continue the fight.

These affiliated groups, in Sunni Muslim countries in North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, have historically sent fighters for training in bin Laden's Afghan camps. Some trainees became "card carrying" al-Qaida members; others returned to join their native groups.
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2002 © The Associated Press.

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