CIA creates anti-terrorist hit team

American officials say the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has created a secret paramilitary unit to deal specifically with what it calls terrorists abroad.

The agency already operated several paramilitary units trained for covert operations, but the new force is said to work directly under the command of the CIA's counter-terrorism centre.

Legal experts say the CIA has legal authority to use lethal force against known terrorist suspects in order to prevent new strikes against United States interests.

Correspondents say there are 22 names on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of most-wanted terrorist suspects, including Osama Bin Laden.

One official is quoted as saying that the CIA believes the al-Qaeda leader is alive and hiding somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistani border.