The Sultanate of Oman denied Sunday a report in an Arabic newspaper that it had extradited several suspected members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda group to the United States.
"No person has been handed over to the United States," the official Oman News Agency said. "That is one of the principles of the sultanate." But, ONA did not deny that the authorities had uncovered and smashed an al-Qaeda cell, as Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
The London-based daily quoted American security sources saying "they were transferred to the United States where they are now being interrogated to determine the nature of their relations with al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden."
The Saudi-owned paper further said the suspects arrived from Pakistan, but gave no dates for their arrest, the number of men involved or their nationalities. Additionally, the sources praised the Omani authorities for breaking up what was reportedly the first such cell discovered in the Gulf sultanate, a strategic US ally, since the September 11 attacks. (Albawaba.com)
