Authorities arrested al-Qaeda's No. 3 commander

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-05-04-pakistan-arrest_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Authorities arrested al-Qaeda's No. 3 commander, who was a close associate of Osama bin Laden and had a $10 million bounty on his head, and said Wednesday they now were "on the right track" to catch the fugitive terrorist leader.

Abu Farraj al-Libbi is a native of Libya and allegedly a close associate of Osama bin Laden.
Pakistan Interior Ministry

Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who allegedly orchestrated two assassination attempts against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was arrested after a firefight on the outskirts of Mardan, 30 miles north of Peshawar, capital of the deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the government and security officials said.

Al-Libbi, a native of Libya who authorities say is a close associate of bin Laden, was arrested earlier this week, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press.

"This is a very important day for us," Ahmed said. "This arrest gives us a lot of tips, and I can only say that our security agencies are on the right track" in the hunt for bin Laden, Ahmed said.

He would not elaborate.

The White House said the capture of al-Libbi was "a great success in the global war on terror" and the most significant arrest since Khalid Shaik Mohammed was taken into custody two years ago.

"His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and those who love freedom," President Bush said Tuesday at a Social Security conference in Washington.

"We have brought to justice in one way or another some three quarters of al-Qaeda's key leaders and associates," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "Al-Libbi's capture is a great success in global war on terrorism. He is one of al-Qaeda's most senior operational planners and one of the terrorist organization's top leaders."

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Libby was the No. 3 al-Qaeda figure behind bin Laden and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured in March 2003. The official called this arrest the most significant blow to al-Qaeda since Mohammed's capture, saying al-Libbi is believed responsible for planning attacks around the world, including in the United States.

"Their leadership and support network is fraying," said the official, who called this a "significant capture" and "another chapter in the degradation of their network."

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao described al-Libbi as an "al-Qaeda planner" who held a senior place in the terror group's hierarchy. He said the U.S. government was offering a $10 million bounty for information leading to al-Libbi's arrest, though he does not appear to be on the FBI's list of the globe's most-wanted terrorists.

Neither minister would provide details on where al-Libbi was captured or where he was being held.

But three Pakistani intelligence officials told AP on condition of anonymity that al-Libbi was one of two foreigners arrested Monday after a firefight on the outskirts of Mardan.

One of the officials said 11 more terror suspects — including three Uzbeks, an Afghan and seven Pakistanis — were arrests before dawn Wednesday in the Bajor tribal region. The official would not say what prompted authorities to launch the raid or whether it was linked to al-Libbi's capture.

The intelligence officials said authorities were led to al-Libbi's hideout by a tip that foreigners had been spotted in the area. The suspect was held overnight at a military facility in Mardan, then transferred by helicopter to the capital, Islamabad, the officials said.

Sherpao would not speculate on whether the arrest might help lead to the capture of bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, who have eluded a 3{-year dragnet since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We have no information" about the al-Qaeda leaders, he said. "It's premature to say (whether al-Libbi's arrest will help track them down), but definitely interrogation is going to take place."

Al-Libbi reportedly spent time in South Waziristan, a tribal region along the border with Afghanistan that is considered a likely hideout for bin Laden. But he fled following a series of military operations in the area last year. Authorities had said privately in recent weeks that they believed they were zeroing in on his location.

Before Ahmed's announcement, senior government and military officials repeatedly denied rumors they had al-Libbi in custody.

Al-Libbi is accused of masterminding two bombings against Musharraf in December 2003. The military leader escaped injury but 17 others were killed in one of the attacks.

Al-Libbi allegedly took over as al-Qaeda's operational chief in Pakistan after the March 1, 2003, arrest of Mohammed, the terror network's purported No. 3. Mohammed was later handed over to U.S. custody, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Sherpao said it was too early to comment on whether al-Libbi might be turned over to the United States, but he stressed there were important cases pending against him in Pakistan.

Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, named the Libyan as the chief suspect in the bombings against him. He was among six suspects identified as Pakistan's most-wanted terrorists in a poster campaign last year.

In the poster, al-Libbi appeared in a photograph as a dapper man with a short beard, wearing a Western suit and tie. The other suspects were all Pakistanis linked to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni Muslim militant group believed tied to al-Qaeda. Al-Libbi is not on the FBI's list of the globe's most-wanted terrorists.

One of the suspects, Amjad Hussain Farooqi, was killed in a shootout with security forces in southern Pakistan in September.

Farooqi, a senior member of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was accused of plotting the bombings against Musharraf with al-Libbi and of involvement in the kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi in 2002.

Pakistan has arrested hundreds of terror suspects since Musharraf ended the country's support of the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks on America and waged bloody operations against al-Qaeda-linked militants along the Afghan border.

It has handed over about 700 al-Qaeda suspects to the United States, including Mohammed, Sept. 11 planner Ramzi Binalshibh and al-Qaeda senior operative Abu Zubaydah.

Looks pretty rough. lol
Maybe they'll catch osama soon....

Authorities arrested al-Qaeda's No. 3 commander

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