Saudi, Chechnya links?
2003-05-14 19:58
Washington - The White House said on Wednesday that the probe into the deadly suicide bombings targeting Western expatriates in Saudi Arabia included a "routine" look into possible ties to attacks in Chechnya.
"It is being investigated. The FBI assessment team is en route; these will be among the various questions," spokesperson Ari Fleischer said a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged the strikes were linked.
He later qualified his remarks by saying that FBI investigators bound for Riyadh will look into "all causes of what took place at the compound, who's responsible, who did it, and that invariably gets into links and ties".
Looking into possible co-ordination between the attackers in Riyadh and those in the breakaway republic is therefore "a matter of routine," and not due to any specific lead, said the spokesperson.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation includes bomb technicians and counterterrorism and intelligence officials, said Fleischer.
On Tuesday, Putin said the attacks in Saudi Arabia and Chechnya bore "the same imprint", as a top Russian official accused Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network of being behind the blast in the republic.
Fleischer called the international terrorist organisation "a leading suspect" in the triple suicide bombings in Riyadh, which left dozens killed or wounded and many still unaccounted for.
"We continue to have strong suspicions about al-Qaeda's involvement in this, but we have not reached any conclusions. We continue to investigate," said the spokesperson.
- AFX