World briefs 1/6/04

CIA: Voice on new tape believed to be bin Laden

CAIRO, Egypt -- A speaker who was purportedly Osama bin Laden said on an audiotape that the U.S.-led war in Iraq was the beginning of the "occupation" of Gulf states for their oil and called on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East. The voice on the audiotape, which was broadcast Sunday on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel, referred to recent events -- including the Dec. 13 capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and peace initiatives between Israel and the Palestinians. A CIA official speaking on condition of anonymity said that a technical analysis determined that the tape was likely an authentic audio message from bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terror network.

Searchers zero in on Egypt crash 'black box'

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt -- Searchers hunting for the wreckage of an airliner zeroed in on a signal late Monday that could be the black box -- holding clues to the cause of the Red Sea crash that killed all 148 people aboard, a French embassy official said. The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, said four people with dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship were among the dead, the first word that Americans were on the Flash Airlines flight, which was bound for Paris via Cairo. Most of the passengers were French tourists. The plane -- an 11-year-old Boeing 737 operated by the private Cairo-based carrier -- crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday from this popular Red Sea resort.

International effort winds down in Iran

BAM, Iran -- The emergency response to the most devastating earthquake to hit Iran in a decade wound down Monday as the final foreign rescue team left and a U.S. field hospital treated its last patient. A flight took off from Bam airport carrying Turkish rescue workers -- one of 24 foreign teams that rushed here after the 6.6-magnitude quake killed more than 30,000 people and injured as many. The U.S. field hospital, which treated more than 720 patients in four days, closed on Monday morning. The hospital is one of six such in Bam. Most will be phased out in the weeks ahead as the international Red Cross and Red Crescent opens a larger facility.

-- From wire reports