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More raids, arrests in Pakistan
Thursday, May 5, 2005 Posted: 7:07 AM EDT (1107 GMT)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) -- Pakistani security forces have rounded up about two dozen suspected al Qaeda members using information from the third in command of the network who was arrested early this week, officials said on Thursday.
Officials told Reuters that Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who U.S. counter-terrorism agents say became al Qaeda operations chief and third in command two years ago, could also provide leads to the whereabouts of leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
Al Libbi's capture was announced late on Wednesday, and he has been brought to Rawalpindi, the garrison town close to Islamabad, for questioning.
"Raids are being carried out in several cities after his interrogation," a Pakistani intelligence official said.
However, some officials doubted whether al Libbi's arrest would have been trumpeted if security forces were hot on the trail of two of the world's most wanted men. Security analysts thought likewise.
"Osama bin Laden will be as insulated as anyone could be. Today we don't know whether he is dead or alive," retired Brigadier Shaukat Qadir, a security analyst, told Reuters.
There were varying versions of when and where Libbi was run to ground, but the most detailed account was given by a policeman in North West Frontier Province and several intelligence sources.
Amanullah Khan, deputy superintendent of police in Mardan, a town 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Islamabad, said Libbi was caught along with four comrades on Monday morning.
Intelligence sources say the militants had been hiding at a shrine on a hilltop on Mardan's outskirts when they were first discovered, but police and security forces cornered them when they fled to a nearby house.
Khan told how tear gas was used to force the men out after they refused to surrender.
"We tried for half-an-hour to 45 minutes but he remained quiet," Khan said. "We tried to break down the door but it was bolted from inside. So, we broke windows and threw a tear gas grenade inside.
"He came out unarmed with hands in the air and his head slightly bowed.
"We found a cell phone on him. He was immediately whisked away by the intelligence agency."
U.S. security officials said they had supplied information that helped track Liby down, but the White House emphasised that Pakistan took the lead in the arrest.
Pakistani security forces followed up their success with several swoops elsewhere in the country.
Raids in Lahore, the capital of the eastern province of Punjab, Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province, and the Bajaur tribal area of the NWFP had already netted more than 20 other al Qaeda suspects, officials said.
"In one raid last night, in Lahore, six men and two women were arrested," the official said, adding that automatic rifles and more than three dozen hand grenades were seized.
Intelligence officials say Libbi's association with bin Laden goes back to the jihad, or holy war, that the United States covertly backed against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Pakistan says Libbi whom officials say is a Libyan, was the ringleader of at least two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.
And it was uncertain whether Pakistan, which has handed over hundreds of other al Qaeda members to the United States, would do the same with Libbi.
Before those attacks little was known of Libbi and even though President George W. Bush called him "a top general for bin Laden" when he hailed Pakistan's breakthrough in the war on terror on Wednesday, his mugshot never appeared on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "most wanted terrorist" list.
But the White House praised Pakistan and called Libbi's arrest the most significant of an al Qaeda leader since that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in March 2003 and was the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"This is a big deal," White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.
Al Libbi was a successor to Mohammed -- "in some sense the leadership is a bit constrained, he was not only doing operations, he was a facilitator, he was into finance, he was into administration," Hadley told reporters.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters that the relevance of Libbi's capture could soon become more apparent.
"I think that over the next couple of days, we will be able to describe that this is a truly significant arrest," she said.
Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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40 rebels dead in Afghan battle
Thursday, May 5, 2005 Posted: 4:31 AM EDT (0831 GMT)
(CNN) -- The bodies of at least 40 insurgents have been found in the aftermath of Tuesday's fighting between attackers and Afghan and U.S. forces. An Afghan police officer also died in the battle.
The U.S.-led military coalition, in a statement issued Wednesday, upped the casualty toll to 40 from 25. The fighting followed "unprovoked attacks" by the insurgents, the military said, and it took place in southeastern Afghanistan near Deh Chopan in Zabul province.
Along with the police officer's death, six U.S. service members, five Afghan National Police officers, and an insurgent were wounded. The military said Wednesday the dead insurgents were a mix of "Taliban and al Qaeda" members.
Forces detained and questioned six suspected insurgents. A village leader had been detained after other villagers said he was a member of the Taliban.
The statement from Tuesday said an Afghan man complained to police that he was beaten up. The man took police and U.S. forces to the spot where he was accosted and the forces "came under small-arms fire."
"Afghan National Army forces and U.S. soldiers operating in the area quickly moved to the site and cordoned off the insurgent forces by use of small-arms fire and support from coalition fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," the military statement said.
The wounded soldiers were taken to Kandahar Airfield for medical treatment. Two wounded U.S. soldiers returned to duty and the other four were to be transported to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany for further treatment.
Thursday, May 5, 2005 Posted: 7:07 AM EDT (1107 GMT)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) -- Pakistani security forces have rounded up about two dozen suspected al Qaeda members using information from the third in command of the network who was arrested early this week, officials said on Thursday.
Officials told Reuters that Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who U.S. counter-terrorism agents say became al Qaeda operations chief and third in command two years ago, could also provide leads to the whereabouts of leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
Al Libbi's capture was announced late on Wednesday, and he has been brought to Rawalpindi, the garrison town close to Islamabad, for questioning.
"Raids are being carried out in several cities after his interrogation," a Pakistani intelligence official said.
However, some officials doubted whether al Libbi's arrest would have been trumpeted if security forces were hot on the trail of two of the world's most wanted men. Security analysts thought likewise.
"Osama bin Laden will be as insulated as anyone could be. Today we don't know whether he is dead or alive," retired Brigadier Shaukat Qadir, a security analyst, told Reuters.
There were varying versions of when and where Libbi was run to ground, but the most detailed account was given by a policeman in North West Frontier Province and several intelligence sources.
Amanullah Khan, deputy superintendent of police in Mardan, a town 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Islamabad, said Libbi was caught along with four comrades on Monday morning.
Intelligence sources say the militants had been hiding at a shrine on a hilltop on Mardan's outskirts when they were first discovered, but police and security forces cornered them when they fled to a nearby house.
Khan told how tear gas was used to force the men out after they refused to surrender.
"We tried for half-an-hour to 45 minutes but he remained quiet," Khan said. "We tried to break down the door but it was bolted from inside. So, we broke windows and threw a tear gas grenade inside.
"He came out unarmed with hands in the air and his head slightly bowed.
"We found a cell phone on him. He was immediately whisked away by the intelligence agency."
U.S. security officials said they had supplied information that helped track Liby down, but the White House emphasised that Pakistan took the lead in the arrest.
Pakistani security forces followed up their success with several swoops elsewhere in the country.
Raids in Lahore, the capital of the eastern province of Punjab, Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province, and the Bajaur tribal area of the NWFP had already netted more than 20 other al Qaeda suspects, officials said.
"In one raid last night, in Lahore, six men and two women were arrested," the official said, adding that automatic rifles and more than three dozen hand grenades were seized.
Intelligence officials say Libbi's association with bin Laden goes back to the jihad, or holy war, that the United States covertly backed against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Pakistan says Libbi whom officials say is a Libyan, was the ringleader of at least two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.
And it was uncertain whether Pakistan, which has handed over hundreds of other al Qaeda members to the United States, would do the same with Libbi.
Before those attacks little was known of Libbi and even though President George W. Bush called him "a top general for bin Laden" when he hailed Pakistan's breakthrough in the war on terror on Wednesday, his mugshot never appeared on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "most wanted terrorist" list.
But the White House praised Pakistan and called Libbi's arrest the most significant of an al Qaeda leader since that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in March 2003 and was the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"This is a big deal," White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.
Al Libbi was a successor to Mohammed -- "in some sense the leadership is a bit constrained, he was not only doing operations, he was a facilitator, he was into finance, he was into administration," Hadley told reporters.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters that the relevance of Libbi's capture could soon become more apparent.
"I think that over the next couple of days, we will be able to describe that this is a truly significant arrest," she said.
Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
_______________________________
40 rebels dead in Afghan battle
Thursday, May 5, 2005 Posted: 4:31 AM EDT (0831 GMT)
(CNN) -- The bodies of at least 40 insurgents have been found in the aftermath of Tuesday's fighting between attackers and Afghan and U.S. forces. An Afghan police officer also died in the battle.
The U.S.-led military coalition, in a statement issued Wednesday, upped the casualty toll to 40 from 25. The fighting followed "unprovoked attacks" by the insurgents, the military said, and it took place in southeastern Afghanistan near Deh Chopan in Zabul province.
Along with the police officer's death, six U.S. service members, five Afghan National Police officers, and an insurgent were wounded. The military said Wednesday the dead insurgents were a mix of "Taliban and al Qaeda" members.
Forces detained and questioned six suspected insurgents. A village leader had been detained after other villagers said he was a member of the Taliban.
The statement from Tuesday said an Afghan man complained to police that he was beaten up. The man took police and U.S. forces to the spot where he was accosted and the forces "came under small-arms fire."
"Afghan National Army forces and U.S. soldiers operating in the area quickly moved to the site and cordoned off the insurgent forces by use of small-arms fire and support from coalition fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," the military statement said.
The wounded soldiers were taken to Kandahar Airfield for medical treatment. Two wounded U.S. soldiers returned to duty and the other four were to be transported to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany for further treatment.
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