Somali Militia Picks Suspected Bin Laden Associate As Leader; Appointment Likely Will Stoke U.S. Fears That Somalia Will Become a Haven for Al-Qaida

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - A fundamentalist Muslim who the U.S. suspects of collaborating with al-Qaida terrorists was named Saturday as the new leader of an Islamic militia that has seized control of Somalia's capital.

The militia, which changed its name Saturday from the Islamic Courts Union to the Conservative Council of Islamic Courts, said in a statement it had appointed Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys as its new leader. The Bush administration has said Aweys was an associate of Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s.

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Somali Militia Picks Suspected Bin Laden Associate As Leader; Appointment Likely Will Stoke U.S. Fears That Somalia Will Become a Haven for Al-Qaida

The Islamic militia seized control of the capital Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia from an alliance of warlords earlier this month. Aweys' appointment makes it unlikely...

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