Al-Jazeera bureau chief confirms receiving 'bin Laden' tape

0 Comments | Asian Political News, Nov 18, 2002

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 13 Kyodo

The Islamabad bureau chief of Al-Jazeera TV said Wednesday an agent of Osama bin Laden gave him the audio tape purported to be that of the reclusive al-Qaida leader.

Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan told Kyodo News he received the tape Tuesday night from a man he met at an undisclosed location in Islamabad.

Zaidan said the man called him Tuesday seeking a meeting, saying, ''I have something for you.''

When they met at the appointed time, Zaidan said the man gave him the audio cassette, which the man described as being ''from Osama bin Laden.''

Zaidan said he asked several questions to bin Laden's emissary but he refused to reply and kept his face half hidden during the meeting, which was their second.

The message was aired by Al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language television channel, on Tuesday. It hailed the devastating Oct. 12 Bali bombing in which more than 190 people were killed and also referred to the Moscow hostage crisis in October, in which a group of armed Chechen rebels seized a packed theater, eventually resulting in dozens more deaths.

Bin Laden has been accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States last year.