That's the problem with the Balkans - stories are often just that.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the authorities in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, looked to capitalize on the attack and thus sent Interpol a fax requesting an investigation into whether Mohammed Atta was in Bakotic (Bosnia) in 1999.
The simple fact that Interpol's investigation could find no evidence of Atta being anywhere near Bosnia was irrelevant as soon as the "Atta in Bosnia!" stories started to appear, and it was even introduced by Milosevic during his trial at the ICTY - in the form of a copy of the fax sent to Interpol by the Bosnian Serbs.
The same thing occurred in the immediate aftermath of the bombings in London and Madrid, though by that time the unwilling Western participants in the Serb's propaganda schemes had had enough of it and it cost the Republika Srpska's police chief his job.
It will be interesting to see where this leads, and whom Del Ponte identifies as the source of the allegations.
Well, that's a more general problem.
Specifically, it wasn't "stories" coming out of the Balkans that alledged that Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague prior to the build-up of the war.
Further, it was major US media sources that alledged that Atta was associated with the so-called "John-Doe #2" - who was supposedly involved in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Remember that?