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DECEMBER 22, 2000 : (INDIA : RED FORT ATTACK BY THE GROUP LASHKAR E TAIBA, A MEMBER OF AL QAEDA'S "INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC FRONT FOR JIHAD AGAINST THE US AND ISRAEL") The Red Fort, as the seat of the Muslim rulers of the past, is an important symbol in its eyes. ... While reporting the Red Fort attack on December 22, 2000, sections of the foreign media described the Lashkar as a Kashmiri militant organisation. It is not. It is a Pakistani organisation based in Pakistan and operating from there. It is a member of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front For Jihad Against the US and Israel. The wrong perceptions abroad about this organisation need to be corrected vigorously. The activities of Osama bin Laden and his announcement of an International Islamic Front For Jihad against the US and Israel assume ominous significance in the context of his past and continuing links with the Markaz Dawa Al Irshad (the Centre For Preaching) of Pakistan and the Lashkar-e-Toiba (the Army of the Pure), its militant wing. The Markaz and the Lashkar have been involved in acts of terrorism, not only in J & K, but also in other parts of India. - "Lashkar e Taiba: A Backgrounder," EXTRACTS FROM PAPER DATED 26-8-1998, TITLED " MARKAZ DAWA AL IRSHAD: TALIBANISATION OF NUCLEAR PAKISTAN"

DECEMBER 23, 2000 : (A TV CAMERA IS STOLEN IN GRENOBLE FRANCE ON CHRISTMAS EVE-- IT WAS LATER USED TO SMUGGLE A BOMB INTO THE CAMP OF AFGHANISTAN'S NORTHERN ALLIANCE LEADER AHMAD MASSOUD IN SEPTEMBER 2001WHERE IT WAS USED IN HIS ASSASSINATION JUST DAYS BEFORE THE AL QAEDA ATTACKS ON THE USA -- See LeT, WILLIE BRIGITTE, SYDNEY CELL, VA JIHAD) ... A TV camera believed to have contained the bomb is known to have been stolen from a French camera operator in Grenoble [France] on Christmas Eve 2000. Massoud's murder was a severe setback to moves to oust the fundamentalist Islamic regime that harboured al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. ------ "Deportee tie to assassination," By Peter Fray, Paris & Mark Forbes, Canberra, The Age [Australia] , October 29, 2003 ; This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/28/1067233172665.html

JANUARY 2001 [circa] : (AUSTRALIAN DAVID HICKS aka MUHAMMED DAWOOD, AFTER RECEIVING FUNDS AND A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION FROM LeT , HEADS TO AFGHANISTAN TO ATTEND AL QAEDA TRAINING CAMPS-- See AL LIBI, ATEF aka AL MASRI, TARNAK FARMS) On, or about, January 2001, Hicks, "with funding and a letter of introduction provided by LET, travelled to Afghanistan to attend al-Qaeda terrorist training camps".
"Upon arriving in Afghanistan, Hicks went to an al-Qaeda guest house where he met Ibn Sheikh al Libi, a top-ranking al-Qaeda member, and others," the US alleged.
"Hicks turned in his passport and indicated that he would use the kunya, or alias, Muhammed Dawood."
Hicks is then said to have travelled to and trained at al-Qaeda's al Farouq camp, located outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. "In al-Qaeda's eight-week basic training course, Hicks trained in weapons familiarisation and firing, land mines, tactics, topography, field movements and basic explosives," the US alleged.
He also trained in al-Qaeda's guerrilla warfare and mountain tactics training course.
"This seven-week course included: marksmanship; small teams tactics; ambush; camouflage; rendezvous techniques; and techniques to pass intelligence to al-Qaeda operatives," according to the US. It was while training at al Farouq that Hicks allegedly spoke with bin Laden.
During one visit, Hicks is said to have questioned bin Laden regarding the lack of English in al-Qaeda training materials. "Accepting bin Laden's advice, Hicks began to translate the training camp materials from Arabic to English," the US said.
On another occasion, then al-Qaeda military commander Muhammad Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al Masri, allegedly "summoned and interviewed Hicks about the travel habits of Australians". After the meeting, Atef recommended Hicks attend al-Qaeda's urban tactics training course at Tarnak Farm. Tarnak Farm included a mock city, where trainees were taught to fight in an urban environment.
Training included "marksmanship; use of assault and sniper rifles; rappelling; kidnapping techniques; and assassination methods".
-------From Adelaide to al-Qaeda," Sydney Morning Herald ^ | June 11, 2004 | AAP