World News 07-10-2002 Terrorists Caused Tanker Explosion who: Terrorist Osama bin Laden what: Pledges fresh terror in "new" recording after tanker explosion is linked to al-Qaeda where: Yemen when: Yesterday snippet: "French experts are being sent to investigate what caused a French-owned oil tanker to burst into flames off the coast of Yemen," reports the BBC this morning, "after the owners alleged their vessel was targeted by terrorists." Yesterday morning the explosion on board the 158,000-tonne Limburg, owned by Euronav SA and chartered to the Malaysian oil firm Petronas, "sent smoke billowing into the clear skies above the Arabian Sea," says The Independent. "The tanker was carrying 397,000 barrels of Iranian crude and was due to load more at Mina al-Dabah, a port 500 miles south-east of the Yemeni capital Sana`a." "In my opinion, this was a terrorist attack," says Jacques Moizan, director of Euronav, quoted in The Scotsman. "The crew saw a high-speed vessel approaching on the starboard side an explosion followed with fire." Meanwhile, says The Times, "Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language satellite station, last night broadcast audiotape of a male voice attributed to Osama bin Laden which warned the US to be braced for further attack." "By God, the youths of God are preparing for you things that would fill your hearts with terror," says the recorded voice, "and target your economic lifeline until you stop your oppression and aggression, or until one of us dies and God give us strength." [... more]

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