JAKARTA (Agencies): Osama bin Laden wanted to move the base of
his al-Qaeda terrorist network to Indonesia's province of Aceh
from Afghanistan in 2000, Cable News Network said, citing
unidentified counterterrorism officials in the Philippines.
The news network said al-Qaeda were working with members of the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which had been fighting for an
independent Islamic state in Aceh.
Ayamane al-Zawahri, bin Laden's senior aide, visited Aceh with
al-Qaeda's former military chief Mohammed Atef in June 2000, it
said.
"Both of them were impressed by the lack of security, the
support and extent of the Muslim population," CNN
said,citing a report by the intelligence officials.
"This visit was part of a wide strategy of shifting the
base of Osama bin Laden's terrorist operations from the
subcontinent to Southeast Asia."
Al-Qaeda, which is blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S.,
had its bases in Afghanistan destroyed when the U.S. began its war
against terrorism last October.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the insurgency in
Aceh.
The Indonesian government is considering imposing emergency
rule in the province, which has oil and gas reserves and is
situated at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca, one of the
world's busiest sea lanes.
