US probes possible Syrian espionage

THE US government is trying to determine whether Syria is engaged in espionage against the US after an investigation of possible security breaches at a prison camp in Cuba, a leading White House aide said yesterday.

“We’re looking into it,” said Condoleezza Rice, President George W Bush’s national security adviser.

Senior Airman Ahmad I al-Halabi, a Syrian-born supply clerk, is charged with espionage for allegedly emailing classified information about the camp at Guantanamo Bay to an unspecified enemy and planning to give other secrets about the prison to a person travelling to Syria.

He also is accused of not reporting unauthorised contacts with the Syrian Embassy, but his military lawyer said the contacts were made for a trip to Syria to get married.

Syrian government spokesmen have denied links to the airman.

Also in custody is Army Captain Yousef Yee, a Muslim chaplain.

He has not been charged but is being held in a Navy prison ship in Charleston, South Carolina, on suspicion of breaching Guantanamo Bay security. Capt Yee learned Arabic and studied Islam in Syria for four years in the early 1990s.

The two men served at Guantanamo Bay at the same time and knew each other, although the extent of their relationship is unclear, according to military officials and one of al-Halabi’s lawyers.

Ms Rice said yesterday: “The Syrians were given a very strong message by Secretary of State Colin Powell several months ago.

“They did respond in cutting off access for Iraqi leadership officials trying to leave the country.

“But there is much more that Syria needs to do, and that message is being communicated to them.”

A leading State Department official recently claimed Syria is allowing militants to cross its border into Iraq to kill US soldiers and is seeking to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.