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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Pakistan jugs 2 more top al-Qaeda |
| 2004-08-12 |
| Two top al-Qaeda suspects, a Pakistani linked to attempts on President Pervez Musharraf's life and an Uzbek national, have been captured in Pakistan, said an intelligence official on Thursday. They are the latest in a gallery of suspected top operatives of Osama bin Laden's terror network caught in the world's second most-populous Muslim nation since mid-July. Both men were close to al-Qaeda's "top leadership", the official said, without naming bin Laden or his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are believed to be both hiding in mountains along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier. The Pakistani, identified only as Mohsin, was nabbed in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday, said the official, who has been closely involved in the high-profile crackdown. "He is one of the important characters in the Musharraf (attempted assassination) case," he said, referring to two bids on Musharraf's life last December. The Uzbek man, known as Mansoor, was arrested in northwest Peshawar city, also on Monday. Believed to be a key al-Qaeda operative, Mansoor had been hiding in the northwest tribal belt along the Afghan border until Pakistani army assaults sent him fleeing, said the official. "He is... one of the people active in organising and providing the Uzbek people for fighting against the army in Wana and also for acts of terrorism," he added. Also arrested this week was a Turkish man believed to be a top al-Qaeda terror planner. Yilmaz Mehmat, alias Khalid, was arrested in eastern city of Lahore on Sunday. The trio arrested this week - Mohsin, Khalid and Mansoor - had been working closely with Khan and Ghailani, said the intelligence official. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |