Bin Laden Groups 'Under Surveillance in US'

Voice of America, September 23, 2001

A published report says investigators probing the terrorist attacks against the United States are watching four or five groups linked to Osama bin Laden that have been operating in the country for several years.

Sunday's Washington Post newspaper quotes unnamed U.S. government officials as saying that so far, no connection has been found between the groups and the hijackers who carried out the attacks on September 11.

The paper says the groups belong to Al-Qaeda - a network of cells, headed by Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the attacks. The network is said to operate in many countries.

According to the Post, Al-Qaeda members entered the United States legally, and have not broken any laws. Government officials are quoted as saying they do not know the exact purpose of the cells.

Another published report says U.S. law enforcement agents found a manual on how to operate crop-dusters during a search of a suspect linked to the attacks in New York City and outside Washington.

Time magazine says the discovery has raised concerns that terrorists might have been planning a chemical or biological attack against U.S. urban centers.

Earlier, federal officials said they had found a number of box cutter knives, similar to those believed to have been used in the hijackings, aboard at least two other passenger planes.

The Washington Post quoted Justice Department officials as saying the discovery was the clearest evidence yet that other hijackings may have been planned for September 11.

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