Posted on 05/05/2005 10:44:11 AM PDT by Dog
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security officials said Thursday they hoped the capture of a Libyan accused of being Al-Qaeda's number three and of planning to kill President Pervez Musharraf could lead them to Osama bin Laden.
Intelligence agents said they had separately recaptured an air force officer who escaped jail late last year after being sentenced to death in one of the assassination plots masterminded by top terror suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi.
In another apparent coup, officials said a second militant seized on Monday with al-Libbi, who has a five-million-dollar US bounty on his head, was himself a key Al-Qaeda figure with a reward tag of four million dollars.
However they would not name the other terror suspect, saying it could harm efforts by Pakistani interrogators to extract information from al-Libbi about bin Laden.
"The man arrested with al-Libbi is an important Al-Qaeda operative, but we cannot disclose his name. We understand the bounty on his head is four million dollars," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to give any other details.
Security agents disguised in burqas, the all-covering garments worn by women in conservative Islamic areas, seized Al-Libbi and the other suspect on Monday after a shootout in Mardan, 120 kilometres (74 miles) northwest of Islamabad.
He was flown by helicopter to Islamabad and was being held in custody at an undisclosed location, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said.
Al-Libbi was also Pakistan's most wanted man and could face the death penalty for the two Musharraf assassination attempts in December 2003, which the president has personally accused him of masterminding.
Junior air force official Mushtaq Ahmed, 26, was sentenced to death in November for his role in the bombing of a bridge which collapsed moments after Musharraf's convoy had passed through in December 2003.
He escaped jail soon afterwards but was arrested last week on a bus near Islamabad on a tip off despite having changed his appearance by shaving off his beard, a security official told AFP.
Officials said they were not aware of any link between Ahmed's recapture and the arrest of al-Libbi.
Al-Libbi took over Al-Qaeda operations in Pakistan after the arrest in March 2003 of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the key planner of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington and the network's former third in command, officials said.
US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have hailed Al-Libbi's arrest as a major victory in the war on terrorism.
"He was the man who was heading the cell that plotted attacks on Britain and the United States before the US election last November," another senior security official told AFP.
The Libyan and an associate were riding on a motorbike from a nearby hideout in Mardan which had earlier been raided to another when security officials in a Suzuki car stopped them at gunpoint, a witness said.
The pillion rider, believed to be al-Libbi, opened fire and escaped, taking shelter in a nearby house.
However the owner of the two-room house, Khalid Khan, told AFP that several security men, some of whom disguised in burqas, fired teargas shells into the house and whisked him away.
A copy of a classified US Central Intelligence Agency list seen by AFP put al-Libbi at number three in the Al-Qaeda hierarchy after bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
It says he has a five-million-dollar bounty on his head and goes on to describe him as "senior Al-Qaeda operations commander and personal assistant of bin Laden."
"Al-Libbi is one of bin Laden's closest confidants and he should be able to provide new leads about both Osama and Ayman Al-Zawahiri," another security official involved in anti-Al-Qaeda operations in Pakistan told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The capture of al-Libbi is the latest in a string of key arrests by Pakistan since Musharraf allied himself with Washington after September 11.
Hmmmmmmmm. Time to search some wanted posters..
Who is the mystery man...
You have any idea who it could be?
No.
Though, I think there have been past reports of al-Farooqi's death, so he might be out of commission.
Actually, it's better that the Pakistani officials caught Mr. Al-Libbi because unlike the U.S. they have ways of making prisoners talk (wink-wink, nod-nod).
You mean... they might... put panties on their head???
Sounds as though the mystery man is one of several go-betweens between Al Libbi and OBL--they probably have a very small handful of guys who both of them trust. If OBL knows precisely which go-between they've caught, he can make deductions about how much they know. Thus, they need to keep quiet. That's my guess, anyway.
"they hoped the capture of a Libyan accused of being Al-Qaeda's number three and of planning to kill President Pervez Musharraf could lead them to Osama bin Laden"
Hope springs eternal. I'm sure they will think of some way to realise that hope.
Wanna bet that Ahmed's private parts were put in a big vice and at that point he cut a deal? "Let me escape and I'll get back up with my old buddy al-Libbi and lead you to him."
Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser - Al-Nasser is the alleged leader of the terrorist organization, Saudi Hizballah. He is thought to be in Iran, Syria, or Lebanon.
Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah - Abdullah fled Nairobi, Kenya, on August 6, 1998, and went to Karachi, Pakistan. He is believed to currently be in Afghanistan. He may wear a moustache.
Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah - Atwah is believed to currently be in Afghanistan.
Ali Atwa - Atwa is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah. He is thought to be in Lebanon.
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Hasan Izz-Al-Din - Izz-Al-Din is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah. He is thought to be in Lebanon.
Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali - Ali may have formal training in agriculture and may have worked in this field. He lived in Kenya until fleeing that country on August 2, 1998, to Karachi, Pakistan. He is believed to currently be in Afghanistan.
Imad Fayez Mugniyah - Mugniyah is the alleged head of the security apparatus for the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah. He is thought to be in Lebanon.
Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan - Swedan sometimes wears a light beard or moustache and has, in the past, managed a trucking business in Kenya.
Abdul Rahman Yasin - Yasin is an epileptic. He is believed to be in Iraq.
Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam - Msalam sometimes wears a light beard or moustache and has, in the past, worked as a clothing vendor.
Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Mughassil - El-Hoorie is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Saudi Hizballah. He is thought to be in Iran, Syria, or Lebanon.
Ali Saed Bin Ali El-Hoorie - El-Hoorie is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Saudi Hizballah. He is thought to be in Iran, Syria, or Lebanon.
Saif Al-Adel - Al-Adel is thought to be affiliated with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), and is believed to be a high-ranking member of the Al-Qaeda organization, currently in Afghanistan
Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub - Al-Yacoub is an alleged member of the terrorist organization, Saudi Hizballah. He is thought to be in Iran, Syria, or Lebanon.
So one would think it's not one of those "associates", but rather some higher up?
thxs Dog!
Who has $5 million on his head will lead one to the answer. $5 Million is a big fish.
Wow, I hope they Paki's aren't interrogating the guy by putting panties on his head. The lefties would go nuts, because then it would be obvious Abu Ghraib taught the world how to properly torture prisoners.
Yep, the Pakistani's best stick to normal torture such as eye gouging, ripping out fingernails, hot lead in the ears, etc.
After all, if pictures of a naked guy with panties on his head show up, the world outcry would be deafening.
I think this would be interesting to watch....after you watched a replay of the twin towers falling....
Whatever they do to him don't but an Israeli flag on his head or we will have to hear Ted Kennedy and Sheets Byrd do their rants.
We will get OBL.. Then the RATS will wail about why it took so long.
Easist thing to do is to take a warlords village and wipe it from the face of the earth. Tell everyone else that if OBL isn't handed over they will be next.
If he is in Pak or Afgh, we will have him in 48 hours.
And this guy previously tried to assassinate the Pakistani president? This guy is toast. They will wring every drop of information from him and then cast aside his dried up husk.
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