Who is Osama Bin Laden?
He spent the next five years in Sudan, where he used his money to fund a number of infrastructure projects for the Islamist government in Khartoum. The Saudi Government is reported to have sought reconciliation but, when this failed, it froze his bank accounts and stripped him of his Saudi citizenship. The US put pressure on the Sudanese Government to expel him, prompting Bin Laden's return to Afghanistan where he became increasingly messianic and radical. By the mid-1990s, he was calling for a global war against Americans and Jews and in 1998, he issued his famous fatwa (religious ruling), amounting to a declaration of war against the US . Two simultaneous bomb attacks against US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania followed a few months later. Bin Laden never acknowledged responsibility, but several of those arrested for their part in the bombings named him as a backer.
Islamic front
Experts say Bin Laden is part of an international Islamic front, bringing together Saudi, Egyptian and other groups. Their rallying cry is the liberation of Islam's three holiest places - Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Bin Laden's organisation is believed not to be a tightly-knit group with a clear command structure, but a loose coalition of groups operating across continents. American officials say his associates may operate in more than 40 countries across Europe and North America, as well as in the Middle East and Asia. The fear now must be that, even if Bin Laden himself is captured or killed, the movement he leads will be harder than ever to crush.
