Agents pursue terrorists online U.S. scours Web for al-Qaeda site, closely monitors talk in chat room By Jack Kelley USA TODAY ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- U.S. officials are searching the Internet for the reappearance of a Web site that they believe has been used by al-Qaeda to deliver messages, including possible instructions for its next attacks, to its operatives around the world. The Arabic Web site, recently known as alneda.com, is a ''mouthpiece for al-Qaeda in exile'' and one of the terrorist group's main instruments in its effort to regroup, senior U.S. law enforcement officials here say. The site, which is registered in Singapore, appeared on Web servers in Malaysia and Texas this month before it was taken off at the request of U.S. officials. They now expect it to reappear under a numerical address in an effort to throw off FBI and CIA specialists who are trying to locate and read it. The site contained audio and video clips of Osama bin Laden, pictures of al-Qaeda suspects under detention in Pakistan, and possibly encrypted, or scrambled, messages to al-Qaeda members, U.S. officials say. They say it also contained: * A recent message claiming to be from al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, in which he warned of more attacks against the United States. * A series of articles claiming that suicide bombings aimed at Americans are justifiable under Islamic law. ''Alneda.com is one of the only sites, if not the only site, for statements by al-Qaeda and the Taliban,'' says Ben Venzke, a cyberterrorism expert and CEO of the Virginia-based counterterrorism consulting firm IntelCenter. ''I expect it to reappear as quickly as it goes down and keep shifting.'' Al-Qaeda members have probably copied the site's contents onto CD-ROMs so they can establish it under a new address, Venzke says. He expects that address to be communicated to a few al-Qaeda members by e-mail and then spread through the ranks. Venzke and other experts say al-Qaeda leaders prefer to use a Web site to communicate with followers, rather than telephones or mass e-mails that are much easier to trace. U.S. officials say they are also monitoring a U.S.-based Internet chat room where participants appear to be planning terrorist attacks against the United States. The officials declined to identify the Web site that is hosting the chat room because of their ongoing investigation. One participant in the chat room was asked recently whether he could speak Spanish, U.S. officials say. He said he could. U.S. officials say they believe that al-Qaeda recruiters are searching for Latino Muslims with U.S. passports to conduct attacks against the United States. Last month, Abdullah Al Muhajir -- born Jose Padilla -- was arrested in Chicago for allegedly plotting to detonate a radioactive ''dirty bomb'' in the USA. Officials say he is an American al-Qaeda member. Although there are several Web sites that appear to be run by al-Qaeda supporters overseas, officials say the site hosting the chat room has become of particular concern to them because it is based in the USA. The U.S.-based Web site, some of which has been viewed by USA TODAY, contains links to videos showing the death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and the destruction of the World Trade Center. It also contains several other chat rooms where participants can post messages about al-Qaeda members or other Muslims who were recently killed in Afghanistan, the West Bank and Gaza or elsewhere. Among the recent messages posted on the site in English: * ''There is no better reward than to sacrifice your life for the cause of Allah.'' * ''We have no hatred towards anyone, not even the Americans or Jews. We just love to send them to hell where they belong in the eternal flames of fire. God is great!'' * ''No death of (an) American on Father's Day? Now that is sad.'' -----
