Report: U.S. jets spotted over Bin
                           Laden base

                           Special to World Tribune.com
                             MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
        Thursday, November 2, 2000

        LONDON — U.S. warplanes are believed to have flown over a base
        operated by Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan.

        The London-based Al Hayat daily reported on Wednesday that two
        unidentified jets were spotted hovering over a base in which Bin Laden was
        believed to have taken shelter. The newspaper said the latest plane, a
        reconnaissance jet, was spotted over Kondhar this week.

        U.S. officials in Washington have refused to confirm the report, attributed to
        Arab diplomatic sources in Cairo. But they said the Pentagon is planning an
        attack on Bin Laden, sheltered by Afghan's ruling Taliban movement and
        suspected of masterminding the Oct. 12 bombing of the USS Cole. The
        officials said they did not expect an attack until after the Nov. 7 presidential
        elections.

        The sighting of planes believed to be that of the United States in Afghanistan
        marks the latest report that U.S. forces are searching for Bin Laden. Over the
        weekend, Arab diplomatic sources in Cairo said U.S. forces have slipped into
        Afghanistan and attacked Bin Laden bases.

        In Washington, U.S. officials have refused to blame Bin Laden for the attack
        on the USS Cole. But they said their investigation is being hampered by
        obstacles posed by the Yemeni government. They said Yemen has refused to
        allow U.S. investigators to interrogate suspects.

        President Bill Clinton has telephoned his Yemeni counterpart, Ali Abdullah
        Saleh, and urged him to order greater cooperation. "We have assurances
        from them [Yemen] that they're going to continue to cooperate," State
        Department counterterrorism coordinator Michael Sheehan said. "We'll judge
        by their actions about how that cooperation unfolds." 

                            Thursday, November 2,