Tweet
Pakistan seizes 'al Qaeda No. 3'
Pakistan seizes 'al Qaeda No. 3'
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 Posted: 1:31 PM EDT (1731 GMT)
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- The alleged number three man in al Qaeda -- believed responsible for the terror group's global operations -- has been captured in Pakistan's frontier province with Afghanistan, Pakistani and U.S. officials have confirmed.
U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday immediately hailed the arrest of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, and that of 10 other suspected al Qaeda members, as a "critical victory in the war on terror."
Pakistan's information minister, Pakistani intelligence officials and U.S. counterterrorism authorities told CNN that al-Libbi and three other al Qaeda suspects were arrested Monday in Mardan, a city in a northwest Pakistani province on the border of Afghanistan.
That frontier province, U.S. intelligence reports have consistently said, is where it is also believed that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are currently hiding.
Al-Libbi -- who is blamed for masterminding two assassination attempts against Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf -- is a Libyan and has a $10 million bounty on his head.
"He was the most wanted man in Pakistan and he's a big catch," said Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad in an interview with CNN. "It's a good sign and we are going in the right direction."
Bush said at a conference he was holding on Social Security that "al-Libbi was a top general for bin Laden. He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al Qaeda network.
"His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who was a direct threat for America."
Bush praised the Pakistani government for its "strong cooperation in the war on terror."
"We'll stay on the offensive until al Qaeda is defeated," the president added.
In Washington, U.S. counterterrorism officials told CNN al-Libbi's capture was due to U.S. intelligence. The officials suggested that someone working for U.S. intelligence was providing information to the CIA.
One U.S. intelligence official added that al-Libbi's capture was "very significant."
Ahmad said there had not yet been any requests from the United States to interview al-Libbi.
In a phone interview with the Arabic television network Al-Jazeera, Ahmad denied media reports that the raid that captured al-Libbi also netted documents that put authorities closer to capturing bin Laden.
In another raid, this one early Wednesday in Bajore on the northwestern frontier near the Afghan border, intelligence officials and local police told CNN seven al Qaeda members were arrested.
The operation began with a raid on a house by Pakistani army commandos, security agency officers and helicopters, officials said.
Three of the men arrested are Afghan, three are Pakistani and one's nationality is not yet known, the officials added.
U.S. counterterrorism officials believe al-Libbi took on the role of No. 3 in al Qaeda following the March 2003 capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. They said he was responsible for plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland.
However, intelligence officials have said that al-Libbi has not had effective control over the Uzbek and Chechen factions of al Qaeda in Pakistan, as Sheikh Mohammed did, and that the Arab contingent of al Qaeda was not getting along with the other two groups.
A close lieutenant of al-Libbi, who was among six suspects identified as Pakistan's "Most Wanted Terrorists" in a poster campaign last year, was picked up in December, the officials said.
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 Posted: 1:31 PM EDT (1731 GMT)
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- The alleged number three man in al Qaeda -- believed responsible for the terror group's global operations -- has been captured in Pakistan's frontier province with Afghanistan, Pakistani and U.S. officials have confirmed.
U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday immediately hailed the arrest of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, and that of 10 other suspected al Qaeda members, as a "critical victory in the war on terror."
Pakistan's information minister, Pakistani intelligence officials and U.S. counterterrorism authorities told CNN that al-Libbi and three other al Qaeda suspects were arrested Monday in Mardan, a city in a northwest Pakistani province on the border of Afghanistan.
That frontier province, U.S. intelligence reports have consistently said, is where it is also believed that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are currently hiding.
Al-Libbi -- who is blamed for masterminding two assassination attempts against Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf -- is a Libyan and has a $10 million bounty on his head.
"He was the most wanted man in Pakistan and he's a big catch," said Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad in an interview with CNN. "It's a good sign and we are going in the right direction."
Bush said at a conference he was holding on Social Security that "al-Libbi was a top general for bin Laden. He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al Qaeda network.
"His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who was a direct threat for America."
Bush praised the Pakistani government for its "strong cooperation in the war on terror."
"We'll stay on the offensive until al Qaeda is defeated," the president added.
In Washington, U.S. counterterrorism officials told CNN al-Libbi's capture was due to U.S. intelligence. The officials suggested that someone working for U.S. intelligence was providing information to the CIA.
One U.S. intelligence official added that al-Libbi's capture was "very significant."
Ahmad said there had not yet been any requests from the United States to interview al-Libbi.
In a phone interview with the Arabic television network Al-Jazeera, Ahmad denied media reports that the raid that captured al-Libbi also netted documents that put authorities closer to capturing bin Laden.
In another raid, this one early Wednesday in Bajore on the northwestern frontier near the Afghan border, intelligence officials and local police told CNN seven al Qaeda members were arrested.
The operation began with a raid on a house by Pakistani army commandos, security agency officers and helicopters, officials said.
Three of the men arrested are Afghan, three are Pakistani and one's nationality is not yet known, the officials added.
U.S. counterterrorism officials believe al-Libbi took on the role of No. 3 in al Qaeda following the March 2003 capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. They said he was responsible for plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland.
However, intelligence officials have said that al-Libbi has not had effective control over the Uzbek and Chechen factions of al Qaeda in Pakistan, as Sheikh Mohammed did, and that the Arab contingent of al Qaeda was not getting along with the other two groups.
A close lieutenant of al-Libbi, who was among six suspects identified as Pakistan's "Most Wanted Terrorists" in a poster campaign last year, was picked up in December, the officials said.
Comment