June 20, 2003	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1424

WASHINGTON, June 19: The United States said on Wednesday it was working with African nations to hunt down a 727 passenger jet stolen in Angola last month, amid fears it may be used in a reprise of the September 11 attacks.

“The United States government is working with governments in Africa trying to cooperate, to seek any information that is available on the potential location of this,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

“We don’t have any reliable assessments about what this portends, what it could be, who may be behind it. But it is an issue that is being worked on in the federal government,” the spokesman said.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the CIA and the State Department had joined in the continent-wide search for the aircraft.

A less likely, but far more chilling scenario, is that the plane was either stolen by terrorists or could end up in their hands for an attack like the 2001 strikes by Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, US officials told the Post.

The 28-year-old jetliner was stolen from under the noses of Luanda airport’s control tower on May 25 and has not been sighted since. It had been parked at the airport for 14 months.—AFP