DRC Opposition Sold al-Qaeda Uranium

Friday, November 14, 2003

l'Agence France-Presse

The man has been interviewed by the American and French security services, but could give no information on the source of the uranium.

FRANCE -- AFP
A representative of al-Qaeda bought enriched uranium capable of being used in a so-called dirty bomb from the Congolese opposition in 2000, according to sworn testimony quoted in a French newspaper on Thursday.

An unnamed former soldier from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has told investigators looking into the murders of two Congolese opposition figures in France in December 2000 that he attended a meeting earlier that year at which the uranium was sold, the Lyon-based Le Progres reported.

The man "described a meeting which took place on March 3 in (the German city of) Hamburg between some Congolese men and an Egyptian by the name of Ibrahim Abdul," the newspaper said.

It quoted the man as saying: "I realised it was al-Qaeda."

(More: Africa.com News)

2003 © l'Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Dan