Special report: US strikes
BBC News Online's in-depth coverage of news, analysis and background on the US air strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan.

Timeline
A chronological rundown of the US missile attacks on Afghanistan and the Sudan.

Who is Osama Bin Laden?
The United States suspects Osama Bin Laden - a wealthy Saudi dissident based in Afghanistan - is behind a string of terrorist attacks.

The trail of evidence
A trail of evidence, beginning with the arrest of a Palestinian in Pakistan, led the US to target two sites in Afghanistan and Sudan.

Clinton's timing called into question
Cynics accuse Bill Clinton of using air strikes to divert attention from his personal problems? But the public are not so sure.

Islam and the West: an unholy war?
The American missile attacks against what President Clinton has called "terrorist-related" targets in Afghanistan and Sudan have already provoked an angry reaction in several parts of the Muslim world.

Background on the cruise missile
Cruise missiles gained a reputation during the Gulf War of being able to pinpoint exact locations of targets - now they have been used again.

Were the US air strikes legal?
The US is moving to defend the Sudan and Afghanistan air strikes as a legal act of self defence.