UPI — For the first time, U.S. officials are suggesting that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is connected to Ramzi Yousef, a claim which takes on major importance in light of the never-proven belief by some associates of the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein sponsored the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The administration has claimed al-Zarqawi's presence in Iraq as evidence of collusion between Hussein and al Qaeda, but that link is also currently unproven.
Intelligence officials told UPI that Yousef and al-Zarqawi may have been friends, and also tied al-Zarqawi to Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Daud Badini, Yousef's brother-in-law, is thought to be tied to LEJ. However, sources also told UPI that al-Zarqawi may have broken with al Qaeda to operate without bin Laden's, a belief echoed in several media reports over the last week after a major attack targeting Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq.
By J.M. Berger :: Link This Item :: INTELWIRE Home
