Al Qaeda lab suggests effort to make chemical weapons

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Materials left behind in a compound used by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, including a booklet offering advice on how to survive a nuclear explosion, suggest the terrorist group may have been trying to develop chemical arms and other unconventional weapons. \nFoul-smelling liquids and charred papers covered with chemical formulas littered a makeshift laboratory in one al Qaeda building in the heart of Kabul. Maps, mines and computer manuals were found in others. \nHomeland Security Director Tom Ridge said Thursday that the documents are consistent with bin Laden's statements saying he desired nuclear weaponry. \nBut papers found detailing how to make a nuclear device were taken off the Internet some years ago.\nU.S. officials have said they had no information to suggest bin Laden has succeeded in gaining nuclear weapons.