Hunting for 'al-Qaeda bomber'

2004-01-07 14:56

Paris - France said on Wednesday that police across Europe were searching for a suspected al-Qaeda operative who failed to show up for an Air France flight on Christmas Eve that was cancelled due to terror fears.

"I can confirm to you that we are looking for someone. I can't tell you any more than that," French Justice Minister Dominique Perben told RMC Info radio.

US television network ABC reported on Tuesday that a search had been launched for the man, who US law enforcement officials believe is linked to al-Qaeda and spent time in "terrorist" training camps in Afghanistan.

International concern about the man, who was travelling with a French passport, was one of the factors contributing to security jitters about transatlantic flights, ABC News quoted unnamed officials as saying.

A global air security alert has forced the cancellation of several flights over the past two weeks, including six Air France flights linking Paris and Los Angeles on December 24 and 25.

Suspect had a ticket

The suspect had a ticket for Air France's Flight 68 from Paris to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, but the flight was cancelled and the passenger never showed up at the airport, ABC reported.

Sources close to the investigation in Paris said the suspect was an Afghan national whose name - Abdoulaye - bore a phonetic resemblance to that of a man captured by US forces in Afghanistan but who managed to escape.

The US authorities noted the similarity in the two names and alerted their French counterparts.

But the man's date and place of birth were not known, the source said, making a definitive identification difficult.

ABC reported that French officials feared the suspect may have a small bomb which could get past airport security devices, but sources in Paris were unable to confirm that report.

Following the grounding of the Air France flights, a thorough search by French investigators turned up nothing suspicious, and officials later said six passengers had been wrongly flagged as potential terrorists.

Air France resumed its flights between Paris and Los Angeles on December 26.

Amid heightened international concern over air security, Washington issued an emergency directive last week asking that armed sky marshals be placed on all foreign flights thought to be at risk.

France backed the US request, with French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy saying on Friday: "When a friendly nation asks us to step up security on our side, no one can reproach it for that."

"We are living in a tense period that requires increased vigilance," Sarkozy said during a visit to Charles de Gaulle airport to inspect security procedures. "I much prefer to act too soon rather than too late."

In a bid to reassure wary passengers, Sarkozy said French sky marshals would carry weapons that do not pose any risk to the plane's fuselage.

- AFP