Los Angeles: Members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network who fled Afghanistan have regrouped throughout the Middle East, particularly in Iran, Syria and Lebanon, the 'Los Angeles Times' reported on September 15, citing Arab intelligence sources.

Key al-Qaida members have gone to Syria and to Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, sources told the daily.

Citing Arab intelligence reports, the 'Times' reported that Syria, which controls Lebanon's political life, has allowed dozens of al-Qaida operatives to take up residence in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, Ein el Hilwa, near the Southern city of Sidon.

Lebanon has denied that any al-Qaida members reside there, but the camp is controlled by Palestinians of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, not the Lebanese government, according to the newspaper.

Arab intelligence sources said Iran's Revolutionary Guards also are actively supporting the organisation, providing everything from safe houses to phoney travel documents.

The terror group also has fine tuned its operations, improving its methods for using the Internet without its communications being detected and, simplifying the means of sending cash to operatives, according to the 'Times'.

The newspaper went on to say that although the United States and its Afghan allies killed or arrested hundreds of al-Qaida fighters, the core of the terrorist network remains intact and the group continues to aggressively plot major terrorist strikes.