U.S., major allies pledge coordinated financial attack against terrorism

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and its major allies agreed Tuesday to produce a coordinated plan to freeze assets of terrorist organizations and pledged in a joint statement to leave no stone unturned in the effort.

"Since the attacks we have all shared our national action plans to block the assets of terrorists and their associates. We will integrate those plans and pursue a comprehensive strategy to disrupt terrorist funding around the world," the group said in a joint statement.

The declaration from finance ministers from the world's seven richest countries followed by a day orders issued by President Bush to freeze financial assets in the United States belonging to Osama bin Laden and 26 other people and groups suspected of funding terrorists.

Meanwhile, President Bush briefed congressional leaders Tuesday on U.S. troop deployments around the globe and scored a diplomatic victory when Saudi Arabia cut its ties with the terrorist-harboring Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia's move left Pakistan as the only nation in the world to maintain ties with the Taliban -- and Pakistan has pledged cooperation with the American-led war on terrorism. It leaves Afghanistan's hard-line Islamic regime ever more isolated in its showdown with the United States over Osama bin Laden.

Defiant, bin Laden's al-Qaida organization issued an early morning statement warning Washington against attacks against him or Afghanistan. "Wherever there are Americans and Jews, they will be targeted." The statement was faxed to news organizations in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, in the name of al-Qaida's chief military commander, Naseer Ahmed Mujahed, and released less than 48 hours before the beginning of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews worldwide.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush would travel to Chicago on Thursday to pledge support for the battered airlines industry.