Al-Qaida behind attack near U.S. base in Japan?

Khalid Sheik Mohammed in U.S. custody

Al-Qaida might have been behind the two small explosions described as a possible "guerrilla attack" outside a U.S. Army base south of Tokyo today, according to ABC News.

No one was injured, but investigators are looking at the possibility it was an attempted terrorist attack.

ABC said intelligence reports in Japan and Pakistan suggest al-Qaida has established a small but powerful presence in Japan. That leads some intelligence analysts to wonder whether or not today's events were al-Qaida's first attempt at an attack in Japan.

Pakistani intelligence sources say militants from Pakistan tied to al-Qaida had established networks in Japan as early as 1999 under direct orders of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, considered the mastermind of the 9-11 attacks.

Mohammed is now in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay.

About two dozen Pakistanis were sent to Japan on student visas in the late 1990s to set up "sleeper cells," a source told ABC News. The terrorists linked with operatives from the Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiya.

One potential plan drawn up by the sleeper cells was to plant several bombs at and around stadiums during the 2002 World Cup.

While the plan was never carried out, the intelligence source told ABC he believes the networks are still in place and are "actively planning operations against U.S. and Western targets in Japan."

"If these explosions [today] turn out to have been terrorist attacks, these networks are the first place to look," he said.

The Army is still investigating the blast, an official at Camp Zama told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

"A small explosion was heard in the vicinity of the base," said Maj. David Smith, a Pentagon spokesman. "It did not occur on the base."

Police found a "launch pad" near the base and suspected an attempted guerrilla attack, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported.

The AP noted "leftist extremists" in Japan have used projectile launchers against targets related to the U.S. military in attacks that have been more symbolic than dangerous.

In 2002, Japanese police found a metal projectile and a crude mortar made from a metal pipe near the scene of two blasts outside Camp Zama that caused no injuries.

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