| "Nope! Ain't tellin'! Nope! Nope!" |
 Pakistani officials remained tightlipped Wednesday about the identities of two high-level al-Qaida terrorists they arrested in recent days, saying they would release no more information until the Republican convention investigation is complete. Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat announced the arrests of two al-Qaida suspects of African origin - one with a multimillion dollar bounty on his head - late Tuesday, but he refused to name them. He said they had been arrested in the past three days.
Meanwhile, a Lahore-based intelligence official said that two of the dozen or so people arrested along with al-Qaida fugitive Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani on July 25 were from South Africa. He identified the men as Feroz Ibrahim and Zubair Ismail, and said they were planning attacks in their home country. He said authorities found maps of South Africa among the items seized at the house in the eastern city of Gujrat where they and Ghailani were captured after a fierce 12-hour gunbattle. Another Lahore-based intelligence official said authorities believe the men wanted to target tourist sites in Johannesburg, South Africa's commercial center. The men are believed to have arrived in Pakistan on a flight from the United Arab Emirates just days before their arrest.
"Ahhh! Pakistan! Land of the pure! I'm so happy to..."
"Stick 'em up! Yer under arrest!"
"...be here." |
It is not believed they are the same men as the high-value targets referred to by Hayyat, because there are no South Africans on the FBI most wanted list with bounties, and the men were not arrested in the past three days. Still, the arrests were considered significant. Another African man, a Nigerian named Mohammed Salman Eisa, alias Ibrahim, was captured at Lahore airport Monday night while boarding a flight to the United Arab Emirates.
"This place is crazy! I'm gettin' outta here!"
"No, you ain't! Stick 'em up!" |
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