Al-Qaida fighting for Iraq, PoWs tell allies
At least a dozen members of Osama bin Laden's network are in the town of Az Zubayr, where they are co-ordinating grenade and gun attacks on coalition positions, according to the Iraqi prisoners of war.
It was believed that British forces were last night (Thursday) preparing a military strike on the base where the al-Qaida unit was understood to be holed up.
A senior British military source inside Iraq said last night: "The information we have received from PoWs today is that an al-Qaida cell may be operating in Az Zubayr. There are possibly around a dozen of them and that is obviously a matter of concern to us."
If terrorists are found, it would be the first proof of a direct link between Saddam's regime and Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The connection would give credibility to the argument used by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to justify war against Iraq a "nightmare scenario" in which Saddam might eventually pass weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.
US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the coalition had solid evidence that senior al-Qaida operatives have visited Baghdad.
He said Saddam had an "evolving" relationship with the terror network.
