IF THESE ARE ALL REAL DOTS MIGHTN'T THEY CONNECT?:

Evidence points to blast being terrorist attack (Mark Huband in London and Charles Clover in Kuwait City, October 11 2002, Financial Times)

A French investigator said yesterday that debris found on an oil tanker damaged by an explosion off the coast of Yemen was not part of the ship, further increasing the likelihood that the attack was carried out by terrorists on a small boat packed with explosives.

The French foreign ministry will issue a statement today on its early findings from the probe into the explosion on the French-registered tanker, the Limburg.

An Islamic group in Yemen yesterday claimed responsibility for Sunday's blast. In a statement published yesterday in the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, a Yemeni group called the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army said it had carried out the attack.

The group said it was in revenge for the execution by Yemen in 1998 of one of its leaders, Zein al-Abdine al-Mihdar. He was executed after government troops rescued 12 foreign tourists who had been kidnapped by the group after a gun battle.

Deputy leader signals involvement in attacks (Mark Huband, Oct 10, 2002, Financial Times)

The deputy leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network yesterday appeared to claim responsibility for two terrorist attacks on French and German civilians.

In a taped message broadcast by the al-Jazeera satellite television channel, Ayman al-Zawahri did not specify the attacks, but referred to the nationality of the victims.

Separate taped statements by Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, and Mr al-Zawahri have been issued this week and broadcast by al-Jazeera. A statement from Mr bin Laden on Sunday coincided with a suspected terrorist attack on a French-registered oil tanker off the coast of Yemen.

The tone of the statements has led to speculation Mr al-Zawahri may emerge as increasingly prominent in the al-Qaeda network, a senior European
intelligence officer said yesterday.

Mr al-Zawahri's statement, broadcast on Tuesday and peppered with phrases evoking his previous role as a doctor, said: "We sent some messages to America's allies to stop their involvement in its crusade. The fighting youth sent a message to Germany and one to France. If the doses are not enough we are ready, with the help of God, to increase them."

The on-again/off-again story of a French oil tanker explosion and the possibility of an al Qaeda tie appears to be on-again. We continue to be perplexed by the failure to tie this story in with the supposed message from Osama bin Laden on al Jazeera this weekend in which he threatened to "target your economic lifeline." It seems wise to be at least somewhat skeptical about every aspect of this story, but if it all pans out, shouldn't someone be concerned that the Arab oilfields are a logical and likely easy target for these guys? Posted by Orrin Judd at October 11, 2002 12:04 AM