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| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
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British official skeptical of direct al-Qaeda link despite video UK Sept. 3 AFP - British counter-terrorism officials remained skeptical of a direct al-Qaeda link to the deadly London bombings despite the posthumous video message from one of the bombers, a newspaper said Saturday. The Arabic television station Al-Jazeera on Thursday aired a video featuring separate statements by al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and by Mohammad Sidique Khan, the British Muslim named as one of the four the suicide bombers. However, a senior counter-terrorism said "it leaves us in the same position," according to the Guardian newspaper. Counter-terrorism officials still hold the view that the plotters were "home-grown," and say there is no evidence of a mastermind," the newspaper reported. A police source quoted by the Guardian said of al-Qaeda's claim of direct responsibility: "It doesn't have to be so," but further evaluation was necessary. "It makes it a bit more likely al-Qaeda were directly involved," he added. However, Evan Kohlmann, a consultant to the US government on terrorism in Europe, was quoted by the newspaper as saying: "There is zero percent doubt this is al-Qaeda." |
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