Suspect says Taliban would have approved Sept. 11 attacks

PARIS -- A leading suspect in a plot to attack the U.S. Embassy in Paris told a French judge that Afghanistan's Taliban regime made a "pact" with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and would have had to approve terrorist acts like those on Sept. 11.

Djamel Beghal, who French authorities believe is linked to bin Laden, told anti-terror Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere of the pact during questioning in Paris on Oct. 1. The case file, which is sealed to the public, was shown to The Associated Press on Thursday.

It is not clear to what extent Beghal had access to top al-Qaida members and Taliban officials or how he knew about any agreements that may have been made between the two groups.

However, in his first interrogation in the United Arab Emirates, Beghal spoke in detail about being recruited and meeting at bin Laden's Afghanistan home with Abu Zubaydah, one of the suspected terrorist mastermind's top aide. Beghal also said he spent time at training camps in Afghanistan.

Beghal recanted some of his Dubai testimony, claiming it was extracted under physical duress, his lawyer said.

During 11 hours of testimony on Oct. 1 before the French magistrate, Beghal told of the agreement between the Taliban and bin Laden.

The pact was made in May, Beghal told the judge, according to the case file.

"None of the terrorist operations of al-Qaida could have been decided after May 2001 except with the accord of the Taliban and their chief, Mullah (Mohammed) Omar," Beghal said.

He added: "Al-Qaida is an integral part of the Taliban regime and its political and military structures."

Beghal said that after the pact, the Taliban closed all training camps in the country that were not linked to bin Laden.

Dan Goure, a counterterrorism expert at the Washington-based Lexington Institute said the testimony "ratchets everything up."

"If true, it clearly documents a symbiotic relationship between al-Qaida and the Taliban." Goure said it would also show that U.S. attempt to get the Taliban "to turn over bin Laden were just impossible."

Beghal, 36, a French-Algerian, was arrested in late July in Dubai with a false passport, and extradited to France after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In Paris, he has been placed under investigation for alleged participation in the plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Paris and other targets.

He admitted to the plot while in detention in Dubai, but during the questioning in Paris, Beghal denied having orders to carry out any attack, said his French lawyer, Fabrice Dubest.

Judicial officials have said they still take seriously Beghal's earlier testimony, which led to a number of other arrests -- including that of the suspected suicide bomber in the embassy plot. Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian who once played professional soccer in Germany, was arrested Sept. 13 in Belgium.

In the earlier testimony, Beghal described meeting bin Laden operatives at mosques in Britain and then traveling to Afghanistan for weapons training at an al-Qaida camp, according to officials who have seen the testimony.

Beghal is in custody along with eight other suspects. Investigators are now examining cell phone records, computer disks, and various documents found in the possession of the suspects, including Kamal Daoudi, a 27-year-old computer student who once worked at a cybercafe. Daoudi has been described as the suspected communications chief behind the plot.

All nine suspects are charged with "criminal association in relation to a terrorist enterprise" -- a charge that brings a maximum of 10 years in jail. It could well be a year or even two before the investigation ends and the suspects go to trial or are released.