Officials look into claim from little-known al-Qaida

By KATHERINE SHRADERAssociated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) —Counterterrorism officials are taking seriously a claim by a little-known group calling itself “The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe” that it staged the deadly attacks on the London transit system.

Among theories investigators are pursuing is whether the group may be linked to Iraq's terror chief, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Current and former government officials agree Thursday morning's attacks were trademark al-Qaida: near-simultaneous explosions, using improvised devices, aimed at Westerners.

By Thursday evening, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official acknowledged that the Internet posting by al-Qaida in Europe was considered a “potentially very credible” claim, in part because the message appeared soon after the attacks and didn't appeared rushed.

But no one was certain, and one defense official said it was too early to say.

“Even though they have come out and staked a claim, I think everyone is still running all the traps,” the official said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because investigations were ongoing.

In London, Britain's top law enforcement official, Home Secretary Charles Clarke, said Friday that investigators were examining the Web site, but had not verified its authenticity.

“Their claim is something we certainly take seriously,” he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. Clarke said he didn't yet know whether the bombers were Muslim terrorists.

“It's very possible that that was the case, but we haven't ruled out other forms of terrorist attacks,” he said.

More than a half-dozen current and former intelligence officials interviewed Thursday conceded that al-Qaida in Europe was a new name to them. But others said it could be an existing group, seeking notoriety with a brutal attack and new title.

Officials couldn't say whether the organization behind Thursday's posting – or the attacks – was considered part of the al-Qaida core answering to Osama bin Laden, an affiliate group receiving support from the main organization, or just an ideological cousin.

Clues also suggested that the rail and bus bombings might be linked to al-Zarqawi, who pledged allegiance to bin Laden last year after he successfully coordinated or executed dozens of grisly terror attacks in Iraq. Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi has indicated a desire to reach beyond Iraq and attack Western targets, and intelligence reports indicate bin Laden has encouraged him.

Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief, said links to al-Zarqawi were certainly possible. Britain's domestic intelligence agency has known about operatives related to him inside the country for some time, including a cell that was disrupted in early 2003 making ricin in a London apartment.

But, Cannistraro said, sorting out the relationships is increasingly difficult because al-Qaida no longer has a topdown structure. “They are depending on affiliates and groups around the world. They encourage them, they send them money, but it is not like they can plan from Kandahar” in Afghanistan.

That base, he and others often remind, is gone.

After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, senior intelligence officials including CIA Director Porter Goss have warned that groups ideologically driven by al-Qaida have formed a broader movement able to carry out attacks independently.

Organizations with names similar to al-Qaida in Europe emerge only to sometimes disband a short time later. Al-Zarqawi is thought to have operated under a number of different names in Iraq, most recently using al-Qaida Between Two Rivers or al-Qaida in Iraq. One senior counterterrorism official said the name's formula was akin to al-Qaida in Europe, a potential hint they may be linked.

John Rollins, a former senior intelligence official at the Homeland Security Department, said al-Qaida's transition to ideology that doesn't necessarily answer to a central organization makes its followers more dangerous and hard to track.

“Anyone can say, 'We are al-Qaida in Montana or Canada,'” said Rollins, now with the Congressional Research Service. “Al-Qaida is no longer your daddy's Ford. It is a new animal.”