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Report: Bin Laden Claims to Have Nukes
Sunday, November 11, 2001
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Usama bin Laden has told a Pakistani newspaper that he has nuclear and chemical weapons, in a report published Friday.
The credibility of the report is questionable as the Pakistani press regularly prints statements by the Taliban as fact without outside confirmation. The article gives no indication that any attempts were made to confirm bin Laden's statements.
The English-language DAWN's Saturday edition includes the comments as part of an interview allegedly conducted between an editor of the newspaper and bin Laden on Wednesday.
In the article, which contains several other questions, editor Hamid Mir asks bin Laden whether Al Qaeda is trying to acquire biological and chemical weapons.
"I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as deterrent," bin Laden said.
When asked where he acquired such weapons, bin Laden said, "Go to the next question."
The newspaper claims the correspondent was blindfolded in Kabul and taken to a place where anti-aircraft guns could be heard firing nearby. After some time, the report says, bin Laden arrived. The article contains photos of the reporter and bin Laden together.
Fox News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.
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