Victims Pursue Bin Laden Assets Also After State Sponsors Seen at stake are billions in funds already frozen; suits move through courts.(WORLD WAR ON TERRORISM)

Byline: PETER BENESH

No amount of money can compensate those hurt by Osama bin Laden's terrorism. He's been ratcheting up the death toll since the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. Then came bombings in Riyadh, Khobar Towers, two African embassies, the USS Cole and Sept. 11.

Lawyers for bin Laden's victims will try to get what they can. But they're not in it for the money, says John Coale, a Washington, D.C., attorney working with four families on the early stages of a class-action suit.

"It's a symbolic gesture with a long shot at getting any money. I'm not buying anything on layaway at this point hoping to get this money. But if it goes well, it could be a deterrent," he said.

Terrorist States

It would deter states that sponsor terrorism, he says. They have assets. Long before Sept. 11, the Treasury Department froze almost $4 billion in funds from seven countries, the Taliban and even bin Laden (see chart).

But adding up pre- and post-Sept. 11 frozen funds, the U.S. has less than $280 million from the Taliban and bin Laden. That's not much for all the next of kin and injured.