Its operatives trained fighters in Iran, sometimes helped by their comrades in Hezbollah.
After traveling to Iran, Mr. Kadhim came home for a break and then was shipped to Syria, where Hezbollah operatives trained him in sniper tactics.
Paul McNulty, the United States Attorney whose office prosecuted the case, contended in a recent interview that it would have been hard for Lindh not to know that "it was a place where Al Qaeda operatives trained".
The official said they involved either Western operatives trained by Al Qaeda in Pakistan or pre-existing Qaeda cells in Europe that relied on Qaeda handlers in Pakistan for guidance and support, or some combination of the two.
In later years, Mr. Mohamed, 48, said in court on Friday, he gave military training to Mr. bin Laden's operatives, trained his bodyguards in his compound in Khartoum, Sudan, and conducted surveillance, at Mr. bin Laden's request, of the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
In that time, the group dispatched a string of operatives trained in Syria, aiming to carry out small attacks meant to test and stretch Europe's security apparatus even as the most deadly assaults were in the works, according to court proceedings, interrogation transcripts and records of European wiretaps obtained by The New York Times.
And even if Osama bin Laden has now decided to commit some new funds and Qaeda forces to Iraq, it is unlikely to be a significant drain on his wallet or the vast reservoir of operatives trained in Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere.
Among the thousands of operatives trained by Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden 's Al Qaeda organization are fanatics from all over the world.
A Nigerian man charged in relation to the incident, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has allegedly told investigators that AQAP operatives trained him in Yemen, equipped him with a powerful explosive device and told him what to do.
