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Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:09:05 GMT
Sudan says Israel has been ‘most probably’ behind two attacks on a truck convoy which killed up to 40 people in the country’s north.

“The first thought is that it was the Americans that did it. We contacted the Americans and they categorically denied [that] they were involved,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig said on Friday.

“We are still trying to verify [the American’s claim]. Most probably it involved Israel,” he added.

Citing two American officials, The New York Times reported on Friday that the attacks on a convoy of 17 trucks in Sudan in January and February were an Israeli operation to prevent what they call ‘arms smuggling’ into the Gaza Strip.

Sadig said Sudan was gathering evidence at the site, and would not react to the attacks while the investigation was still ongoing. He added that the convoys were likely smuggling goods — not weapons.

Sudanese government had earlier dismissed the The New York Times report, saying the US forces had carried out the attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday that Israel has acted ‘wherever’ possible to strike at its enemies, but did not specifically mention the attack in Sudan.

The US and Israel signed a deal to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza after Israel failed to achieve the goals it set against Hamas in Gaza.