Saddam planned to provide aerial drones to terrorists

Saddam Hussein's government discussed supplying unmanned aerial vehicles to terrorists, according to a CIA report made public last week, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.

The Iraq Survey Group report stated that the development of the Al Quds remotely piloted aircraft included links between the program director and terrorists.

Al Quds program director Imad Abd-al-Latif Al Rida reported that four Al Quds drones were to be used as 'flying bombs' in an attempt to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, according to a source who worked on the Al Quds program.

'According to the source, four UAVs were to be given to a former Hamas member named Abu Radin who was a friend of Saddam Hussein,' the report stated.

'Abu Radin, who was no longer loyal to Hamas, would take the UAVs to Jordan, install 5 kg of C4 explosive and use them to attack Sharon at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.'

Another Iraqi drone, called the Al Musayara-20, was also to be used as a flying bomb, the report stated.

A Dec. 23, 2000, memorandum discovered in Iraq showed that the Iraqi Air Force and senior members of the Fedayeen Saddam, a paramilitary organization, agreed to develop helicopter UAVs for the Fedayeen Saddam.

A prototype helicopter UAV was built but was destroyed by U.S. cruise missiles in March 2003.