Al-Qaida tapes show chemical experiments on dogs

US TV network CNN has begun airing excerpts from a cache of video tapes acquired in Afghanistan that purport to show al-Qaida terror training, bomb-making and poison gas experiments on dogs.

The tapes also show al-Qaida operatives apparently practising ambushes and kidnapping.

Most tapes appear to be made before September 11, although some show recorded television coverage of the last of the attacks in New York and Washington.CNN said correspondent Nic Robertson acquired more than 250 tapes through a source, and he drove 17 hours from Kabul to a remote part of Afghanistan to first see them.

CNN did not pay for the tapes, Mr Robertson said.

The network said it showed the tapes to experts to verify their authenticity.

The New York Times, which was shown portions of the tapes last week, quoted an expert who viewed the tapes as saying the tapes suggest Western intelligence agencies may be underestimating al-Qaida.

"In conjunction with the Encyclopedia of Jihad and other written manuals, the tapes show meticulous planning, preparation and attention to the tradecraft of terror," Marcus Ranstorp,

director-designate of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St Andrew's University in Scotland, said.

A CNN spokeswoman declined to say more about how the tapes were obtained, and said she did not believe the network was being used by Osama bin Laden's network to get a message across.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel declined to comment on the tapes, which were aired on Sunday night.

CNN planned to reveal the tapes' contents through several reports this week.

Sunday's report showed images of a white dog locked in a cloudy, glass box.

The tapes show several images of the dog vomiting and moaning. Ultimately, one of the dog's hind legs shoots up in the air, as its head goes down. The dog is then motionless.

CNN also showed images of masked terrorists intercepting a vehicle in an apparent training drill for a kidnapping.

They also showed bin Laden surrounded by tight security, and being interviewed by journalists.