Capture of Palestinian guerrilla proof of Iraq’s link to terrorism, US claims

THE United States yesterday held up the capture of a veteran Palestinian guerrilla chief in Iraq as proof of a link between Saddam Hussein and terrorism.

The US military said the detention in Baghdad of Abu Abbas, mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, helped to justify the US-led invasion of Iraq. The Palestinian Authority demanded his release.

“When we came into this the Secretary of Defence (Donald Rumsfeld) said one big concern was the nexus between this regime and terrorism. This proves the nexus was there,” said Captain Frank Thorp, spokesman at US war headquarters in Qatar.