 Osama Bin Yousaf, arrested from Faisalabad on Sunday, is said to be an important Al Qaeda operative, a close aide of Abu Faraj Al Libby and Amjad Hussain Farooqi and was in contact with other Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan and Europe, intelligence officials told Daily Times on Monday.
| "We got a winnneeeerrrrr!" |
âBin Yousaf confessed to being part of the Al Qaeda network and to have provided logistic support to militants,â officials added. His cell phone numbers were found in Al Libbyâs telephone index after which American and Pakistani intelligence agencies put him on their watch list, intelligence officials said, adding that he was arrested after the Cellular Call Tracking System (CCTS) that was installed in several locations countrywide phone calls made by him to Italy, Germany and the UK. âHe called someone in the UK on Thursday, called someone else in Italy on Friday and made two long phone calls to somebody in Germany on Saturday,â officials said.
| "Hello? Ma? Hey! It's me, Sonny! How ya like DÃŒsseldorf?" |
He would put his cell phone off after making calls due to which intelligence agencies could not trace his exact location, officials added. However, the CCTS traced his location while he was calling overseas after which a team arrived in Faisalabad to hunt him down, they said. âHe made a phone call to Peshawar on Sunday and was arrested after that. Law enforcement agents were onto him as soon as he finished his call,â officials added.
| "Ma? Hey, I gotta hang up now! The cops have the place surrounded, and they're gonna set fire to it if I don't come out! Talk to you later, okay? Love to Aunt Fatimah!... Right. I'll give your regards to Pinto Face as soon as I see him..." |
He told his interrogators that he went to Afghanistan in 1992 and got guerrilla training, officials said, adding that he was injured combating rivals in Afghanistan in 1993 and returned to Pakistan. He again went to Afghanistan in 1995 where he was introduced to Al Qaeda leaders, officials added. Maps of Italy, Germany, Pakistan and the UK, three credits cards, a computer, dozens of CDs, three grenades, two AK-47s and hundreds of bullets were seized from his possession, officials added. |