To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (13457 ) 2/7/2002 3:33:51 AM From: Libbyt Respond to of 23786 U.S. missile hits suspected al Qaeda leader By Jamie McIntyre and Barbara Starr CNN Washington Bureau WASHINGTON (CNN) --The CIA on Monday fired a Hellfire missile from an unmanned aerial vehicle at a group of people in eastern Afghanistan that was believed to have included a prominent al Qaeda leader, U.S. officials told CNN Wednesday. Several people were believed to have been killed in the attack, but U.S. officials said they could not confirm who they were."It would be nice if one was Osama bin Laden," said one U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, "but we don't know." Sources said the men were traveling in a convoy of sport utility vehicles and had stopped to gather outside their vehicles when they were hit by the missile fired from a Predator UAV. The suspected al Qaeda leader was surrounded by security and given great deference, said a U.S. official."That kind of treatment could be accorded bin Laden," an official said, "but it could also be accorded other top leaders." Pentagon sources said the United States is attempting to put Special Operations forces on the ground in the area to confirm who was killed, but so far have been unable to do so because of bad weather. Officials would not disclose the exact location of the attack, but intelligence sources told CNN that reconnaissance and surveillance has been stepped up in recent days at several cave sites around Khowst and Spin Boldak. Sources said bin Laden is known to have used those caves in the past, and it was decided several days ago to keep a closer eye on them in case he returned to the region. No one knows if bin Laden was in the convoy, but one source said the intelligence community doubts he was there. The convoy was much smaller than a typical bin Laden convoy, said one source. That might have been part of an effort to disguise bin Laden's movements, he acknowledged. Such a tactic, however, would leave the convoy no capability to fight against a possible ground attack. Al Qaeda leaders also have been using "decoy" convoys with switched license plates and markers, sending them out and seeing if they get hit, the source said. cnn.com