Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano has pledged measures to ensure his country would not be used by terrorists, but made scant reference to US-led attacks on Afghanistan which began Sunday.

"We will continue to take measures to prevent any possibility that our territory may be used to plan, organise and implement terrorist acts," Chissano said Monday night.

Last week, the independent Metical newssheet and the pro-government weekly Domingo reported that Mozambican and US authorities were probing possible Mozambican links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network of Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden, sheltered by Afghanistan's Taliban regime, is Washington's prime suspect in the terrorist attacks on the United States that killed some 5,500 people on September 11.

The joint probe here was reportedly focused on money laundering by Maputo-based foreign exchange houses, most of them owned by businessmen of Asian origin.

Maputo has seen a proliferation of such houses in recent years.

Chissano said that terrorism must be fought against regardless of its origin or where it occurs, and regardless of the race or religion of the terrorist, "since it leads to the death of innocent citizens, and endangers peace and harmony among the people and countries of the entire world".

Refering to the US-led air strikes, Chissano said "we hope that in these actions the lives of innocent citizens, inside and outside Afghanistan, will be safeguarded".

AFP