Al-Qaida shipped gold to Sudan, says newspaper

THE al-Qaida network and Afghanistan-deposed Taliban militia have sent several shipments of gold to Sudan in recent weeks, the Washington Post reported yesterday, citing European, Pakistani and US investigators.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying several shipments of gold were taken by boat from the Pakistani port of Karachi to either Iran or the United Arab Emirates and flown by chartered airplanes to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

The report said it was unclear how much gold has been moved, but US and European officials said the quantity was significant and an indication al-Qaida and members of the Taliban militia still had access to large financial reserves. The unidentified sources told the newspaper Sudan may have been chosen as the repository for the gold because al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and others in his network were familiar with the country and had business contacts there. Bin Laden lived in Sudan from 1991 to 1996.