:jhanda:
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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 $1 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.”
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.
Bush described him as “a major facilitator and a chief planner” for al Qaeda and said his arrest “removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom.”
“I applaud the Pakistani government for their strong cooperation in the war on terror,” Bush said, adding that the Pakistanis had acted on “solid intelligence” to bring him to justice and vowing that those fighting terrorism will “stay on the offensive the offensive until al Qaeda is defeated.”
One U.S. intelligence official said 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 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.
Al-Libbi was among six suspects identified as Pakistan’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” in a poster campaign last year.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/pakistan.arrest/index.html