Officials: Al Qaeda may be regrouping in Pakistan

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials say they have evidence al Qaeda fighters loyal to the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan may be trying to regroup in Pakistan.

A story in the Wednesday issue of The New York Times describes intercepted e-mail messages and other Internet traffic, including new Web sites, as signs of an effort to reorganize.

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Sources say Bush administration officials were angered by the report, fearing it might help terrorists compromise U.S. intelligence gathering techniques.

U.S. government sources reached by CNN on Wednesday would not confirm the means by which communications might be monitored, but an official told CNN, "We see indications al Qaeda may be trying to regroup in Pakistan with a view to then heading back into Afghanistan."

This official said the gatherings are "not on a grand scale," and the newspaper account, in his opinion, "overstates" what is known about any movements of al Qaeda loyalists.