Posted on 09/10/2003 6:27:53 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Al-Qaida operatives under arrest say the terror network planned a suicide attack on Israel similar to the Sept. 11 hijackings in the United States, according to an Israeli official.
Israel's army chief Moshe Ya'alon said al-Qaida tried to recruit Saudi Arabian Air Force pilots for the assault which was to involve F-15 fighter jets or civilian aircraft.
Speaking at a conference on terrorism in Herzliya, Israel, yesterday, Ya'alon noted the Saudi Arabian Air Force recently stationed F-15 fighter jets at the Tabuk base, in northern Saudi Arabia, not far from Israel's southern border.
"The deployment of Saudi Arabian F-16s in Tabuk since Operation Iraqi Freedom is a new phenomenon," the Reuters News Agency quotes him as saying.
"We are concerned by the deployment of Saudi planes in Tabuk, and from the information on al-Qaida, and demand that the matter be investigated," he added, according to Haaretz.
Ya'alon said the information was gleaned during interrogations of detainees in coalition custody.
Haaretz reports Ya'alon also sent a warning to leaders of terror groups around the world that they could be targeted in Israel's all-out war on terror suspects.
"Leadership, whether it's in Damascus or Hezbollah [in Lebanon] and [Iranian] Revolutionary Guard garrisons in Lebanon, who support Palestinian terror cells here ... all leaderships should be held accountable," the paper quotes him as telling the conference attendees.
Can you say WWIII!?!
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