Author: AP
Publication: The Times of India
Date: March 12, 2002
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=3505940
The United States, widening its
financial assault on global terrorism, Monday blocked assets of an Islamic
charity's branches in Bosnia and Somalia.
A Bush administration official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US government has evidence
that some money from the charity's offices in Bosnia and Somalia had been
diverted to support terrorist activities.
The Treasury Department's action
is specifically against Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation's in those two countries.
The charity is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and has offices in more than
50 countries, according to information on the group's Web site.
The group, according to its Web
site, uses donations for many activities, including educating people about
Islamic doctrines providing medical aid and food to some countries, and
financing the building of schools, mosques and other projects. The site
says nothing about providing weapons or cash and does not advocate violence.
The Bush administration official
said the charity's office in Somali "is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida
terrorist network" and the Bosnia office "is linked to Al-Gama'at Al-Islamiyya,
a Egyptian terrorist group." The official would not provide further details.