November 19, 2001	Monday	Ramazan 3, 1422

LOS ANGELES, Nov 18: Osama bin Laden cobbled together a makeshift air force to support his terror activities, drawing on Afghanistan’s national airline, clandestine charter flights, and even a surplus US Air Force jet, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.

Osama shipped men and materiel on Afghanistan’s Ariana Airways after the Taliban took control of the country in 1996, the daily reported, adding that he turned to covert charters last year when international sanctions hobbled the airline last year.

Ariana Airlines became a “key node in Al Qaeda’s infrastructure”, a former US National Security Council official told the daily. “The network used Ariana to move everything that was useful — money, personnel and materiel.”

Taliban leaders in recent years also gave Osama regular access to a Russian-made MI-17 helicopter, the Times reported.

According to the daily, which quoted diplomatic and US security sources, Osama’s easy access to the aircraft allowed him to arm and transport his network.

Through an operative, bin Laden bought and refurbished the US Air Force passenger jet in 1992 — evading rules governing the sale of American planes — and had it transported to Sudan, where he was based at the time.

Air Force officials, who said they were surprised that one of their surplus jets ended up in Osama bin Laden’s hands, said they will tighten monitoring of future sales and trades.—AFP