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After Attacks, Spies Scour for Clues in So. America 

In the shadowy, trash-littered alleyways of South America's contraband capital, spies from distant countries believe something much more sinister than backroom drug deals may be taking place.

Several intelligence agencies have turned their magnifying glasses on the sweaty Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, a haven for smugglers and other criminals, in the global hunt for clues to last month's deadly attacks on Washington and New York.

Agents from the FBI (news - web sites) are among the spies swarming the city's black markets, looking for a possible money trail or other connections to the Islamic militants believed to have been responsible for the aerial attacks that has left nearly 6,000 people dead or missing.

Somewhere among the shady cast of arms dealers, drug runners, cigarette smugglers and car thieves known to make their living in the volatile region, local officials said there is a clear connection to suspected Islamic organizations.

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