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CNN Saturday Morning News

Some Anti-Soviet Fighters in Afghanistan Joined Taliban

Aired December 22, 2001 - 09:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now back to Afghanistan, many Arab Muslims were lured to Afghanistan by the war against the Soviets, and some of them stayed and have even taken up arms with terrorists there.

CNN's James Martone gives us a closer look at the Afghan Arabs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES MARTONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1980s, thousands of Arab men left their countries for Afghanistan, often with assistance from their governments, to help a fellow Muslim nation fight against Soviet intruders.

At the end of the Afghan-Soviet war, thousands of the so-called Afghan Arabs chose to remain. "Maybe about half an original 7,000 stayed and settled there," says Mohamed Salah. "They became part of the environment and took Afghan wives. And when the strict Islamic government of the Taliban came, the Afghan Arabs felt it was in accordance with their beliefs."

Mohamed Salah, a journalist for "El Hayat" newspaper, has reported on the so-called Afghan Arabs for two decades. He doubts that many were part of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, but Arab governments say they are coming up with ways to find out.

AMRE MOUSSA, SECRETARY GENERAL, ARAB LEAGUE: Under this -- those circumstances of confusion about those Arab Afghans and where do they live and what do they do, I believe the best way is to put them to trial.

MARTONE: But what kind of trial and where is an unresolved issue in the Arab world, where officials say they don't even have figures for how many of their men went to Afghanistan, let alone their details.

OSAMA AL-BAZ, EGYPTIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: We don't know if there are any Egyptians over there, and if an Egyptian commits a crime somewhere, they will be treated fairly like any other person.

MUSTAFA OSMAN ISMAIL, SUDANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: They should be put onto trial in their own land, and if it is possible, if they can be brought back to their normal life, that may be the best way to deal with such situation. MARTONE: But fear of a trial is what prompted some of these men to stay on in Afghanistan. Several of their colleagues were convicted in military trials back home for alleged plots against their home governments.

Abdullah Omar Afted Rahman's (ph) two brothers left Egypt for Afghanistan in 1989. They took jobs as merchants there after the war ended. He says his brothers have no contact with bin Laden, although the U.S. accuses one of the brothers, Ahmed, of being part of al Qaeda.

"Egypt at the time was looking at those returning from Afghanistan as terrorists," he says. "Some of them had done illegal things, so we understood it would be hard for my brothers if they returned."

One of the most prominent Arab fighters who stayed is Ayman al- Zawahiri, believed to be the right-hand man of bin Laden. Zawahiri's whereabouts is unclear at this time, as the U.S.-led military campaign targets the top al Qaeda leadership. But he would be killed if he came back to his native Egypt, where he was sentenced to death in the 1990s for terrorist acts.

(on camera): While different Arab governments agree on the need to verify that their nationals were not part of any terrorist organizations, there's still no agreement on how and by whom this should be done, meaning that the Afghan Arabs could remain in Afghanistan for months to come.

James Martone, CNN, Cairo.

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