'Bin Laden planned to kidnap US official'

A former fighter in the Al-Qaeda network has revealed how Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the attacks in the US on September 11th, planned to kidnap a US diplomat in an attempt to secure the release of one of his associates.

Bin Laden plotted to kidnap an high-ranking US official to bargain for the release of Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was jailed for masterminding the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Centre in New York.