1. On May 25 2006, Hamid Mir gave an interview to Ryan Mauro titled ‘Al-Qaeda’s Hidden Arsenal and Sponsors‘. Following are a few excerpts:
RM: It has been reported that you believe Al-Qaeda has nuclear weapons. How did you come up with this conclusion?
HM: I came up with this conclusion after eight years of investigation and research in the remote mountain areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. I traveled to Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Russia and met dozens of people. I interviewed not only Al-Qaeda operatives but met scientists and top U.S. officials also. I will have the details in my coming book.
RM: How many nuclear weapons does Al-Qaeda possess?
HM: As far as I know, they smuggled three suitcase nukes from Russia to Europe. They smuggled many kilos of enriched uranium inside America for their dirty bomb projects. They said in 1999 that they must have material for more than six dirty bombs in America. They tested at least one dirty bomb in the Kunar province of Afghanistan in 2000.
They have planned an attack bigger than 9/11, even before 9/11 happened. Osama Bin Laden trained 42 fighters to destroy the American economy and military might. 19 were used on 9/11, 23 are still “sleeping” inside America waiting for a wake-up call from Bin Laden.
RM: In a recent interview, you described a nuclear test in Kunar province in the year 2000 where an Egyptian scientist lost an eye. Was it a radiological “dirty bomb” or a more serious tactical nuclear weapon?
HM: It was a radiological dirty bomb.
RM: Why hasn’t Al-Qaeda used nuclear weapons if they possess them?
HM: They are waiting for the proper time. They want the U.S. to be involved in a mass killing of Muslims, so that they will have some justification. That is what I was told by a top Al-Qaeda leader in the Kunar Mountains of Afghanistan.