Al-Qaeda bent on bio warfare
2003-11-15 18:23
United Nations - The al-Qaeda terror network is determined to use chemical and biological weapons and is restrained only by the technical difficulties of doing so, a UN expert panel said in a confidential report.
Sanctions on supporters of al-Qaeda and Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers appear to be too limited to prevent them from obtaining weapons and explosives, said the report, obtained on Friday by The Associated Press.
"The risk of al-Qaeda acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction also continues to grow," the experts said. "Undoubtedly al-Qaeda is still considering the use of chemical or bio-weapons to perpetrate its terrorist actions."
The only thing holding al-Qaeda back from using chemical and biological weapons "is the technical complexity to operate them properly and effectively", the report said.
The five-member expert group led by Michael Chandler of Britain said it believes this is the main reason why al-Qaeda is still trying to develop new conventional explosive devices, such as bombs that can evade scanning machines.
"In the same pattern, al-Qaeda is also adopting new suicide bombing tactics, similar to those used by other terrorist groups, which involve the use of explosive belts," it said, citing a report that such belts were found in recent raids on religious extremists in Saudi Arabia.
The report is the second by the expert group established in January by the UN Security Council to monitor implementation of sanctions against 272 individuals and entities linked to al-Qaeda and Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime. The sanctions include freezing assets, a travel ban, and an arms embargo.
The experts said the bans were failing to stop Osama bin Laden's supporters, primarily because governments weren't enforcing sanctions and al-Qaeda and the Taliban had found ways to circumvent them.
Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen reported the arrest of individuals linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, yet in most cases they didn't submit the names to be put on the sanctions list, the report said.
- AP