Osama outfit splits over ideology

Osama outfit splits over ideology
DEUTSCHE AGENTEUR PRESSE

ISLAMABAD, JULY 31: Osama bin Laden's alleged terrorist organisation, Al Qaida, has split on ideological grounds with a renegade, Omar Abdul Hakim Abu Musa'B Suri, forming his own group, The News said today, quoting unidentified sources in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Though the differences were not specified, one source claimed Suri wanted the 1,100 to 1,200 militant Arabs living in Afghanistan to be placed under the command of the ruling Islamic Taliban.

Saudi dissident Osama is a hero to anti-American Muslims and lives in Afghanistan. The US has been seeking his custody to try him for allegedly sponsoring terrorist attacks on US interests worldwide.

Suri, a Syrian by origin, was ``less of an extremist'' than Osama and holds moderate views on the Islamists' differences with the West.

After the split, the Taliban closed Suri's offices and camps at the request of Osama but allowed the renegade leader to resume his activities after three months.