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Hunt for bin Laden intensifies after top aide is captured
The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 03/07/04 | Massoud Ansari and Philip Sherwell

Posted on 03/06/2004 4:45:01 PM PST by Pokey78

A son of Osama bin Laden's deputy has given crucial information on the whereabouts of al-Qa'eda leaders after being captured by Pakistani forces in a lawless frontier area close to Afghanistan, intelligence officials in Islamabad have revealed.

Ayman al-Zawahiri's son, Khalid, was seized along with 20 other suspected foreign militants in a raid by Pakistan's security forces in the remote South Waziristan area 10 days ago, officials have told the Telegraph.

Information gleaned from him by interrogators has helped direct Pakistani and American forces in their drive to capture bin Laden and other senior al-Qa'eda figures, being conducted in the mountainous areas on both sides of the border.

The authorities in Islamabad are unwilling formally to announce the capture of the younger al-Zawahiri, but officials have privately confirmed that he is being questioned by a joint team of intelligence officers - from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the CIA - at a secret location in Pakistan.

They say that recent sweeps by British and American special forces in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan have been linked to disclosures made by Khalid al-Zawahiri and others - including his wife - captured with him in raids on houses in Azam Warak, nine miles from Wana, the main town of South Waziristan.

Pakistani security forces also recovered ammunition, passports, video cassettes and other literature belonging to the al-Qa'eda terrorist network in the raids in the lawless frontier area. Al-Zawahiri is said to have been in touch with his father recently.

Hundreds of troops from Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps, backed by helicopter gun ships, have been deployed in the area to tackle the foreign militants and either capture bin Laden, or drive him across the Afghan border into American hands.

More than 1,600 American troops, including special forces units, are in place at Salerno base near Khost in eastern Afghanistan ready for an all-out spring offensive to capture bin Laden.

By next month, that figure will have more than doubled, bolstered by a heavy contingent of SAS soldiers who have been assigned a key role in the operation. American engineers are currently enlarging and upgrading a landing strip at Salerno so that large military planes can land there to support the mission.

Pakistan is reported to have secretly agreed to permit American and British forces to cross into its volatile border tribal areas from Afghanistan in large enough numbers to pursue al-Qa'eda and Taliban fighters.

The extremely sensitive agreement is said to be part of an unofficial deal, in return for Washington supporting President Pervez Musharraf's controversial decision to pardon Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man behind Pakistan's nuclear bomb, for selling nuclear weapons materials on the international black market.

According to The New Yorker magazine, an intelligence official said: "Musharraf told us, 'We've got guys inside. The people who provide fresh fruits and vegetables and herd the goats [for bin Laden and his followers]'. It's a quid pro quo: we're going to get our troops inside Pakistan in return for not forcing Musharraf to deal with Khan."

There has been heavy speculation that American and Pakistani forces are finally closing in on bin Laden, who slipped through the fingers of the coalition hunting him in the Tora Bora mountain region at the end of 2001.

The terrorist leader and his assistants are suspected to have been hiding in the semi-autonomous regions along the 1,500-mile border with Afghanistan, where inhabitants remain sympathetic to the Taliban movement as well as the Arab fighters who came to support it.

Last month the CIA's top official responsible for south Asia visited the tribal regions to plan the crackdown. "He held meetings with his Pakistani counterparts and exchanged notes with them, including satellite imagery and other scientific details," said an official.

Officials said that the government of Pakistan is under immense pressure from the Bush administration to launch a "now or never" operation to capture bin Laden and his associates.

The launch of the Pakistani military operation has infuriated local Pathan tribes and led to the provincial government - which is dominated by mullahs from a six-party Islamic alliance, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal - denouncing President Musharraf as an American stooge. Leaders have warned that the operation in the tribal areas will have serious consequences for the security of Pakistan.

Maulana Abdul Malik Wazir, a member of Pakistan's national assembly from North Waziristan, said that most people were furious at the way in which the authorities were conducting the operation. He warned: "You know that almost every tribesman is loaded with weapons in the tribal region and if they are pushed to the wall they would never hesitate to take the law into their own hands."


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alzawahiri; binladen; khalidalzawahiri; pakistan; southasia
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1 posted on 03/06/2004 4:45:01 PM PST by Pokey78
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To: Pokey78
Sounds promising
2 posted on 03/06/2004 4:46:11 PM PST by woofie ( 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.)
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To: Pokey78
What no rumors?
3 posted on 03/06/2004 4:46:45 PM PST by Just mythoughts
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To: Pokey78; patton; IGOTMINE; Dog; Angelus Errare; Cap Huff; swarthyguy; Prodigal Son; Boot Hill
Information gleaned from him by interrogators has helped direct Pakistani and American forces in their drive to capture bin Laden and other senior al-Qa'eda figures, being conducted in the mountainous areas on both sides of the border. The authorities in Islamabad are unwilling formally to announce the capture of the younger al-Zawahiri, but officials have privately confirmed that he is being questioned by a joint team of intelligence officers - from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the CIA - at a secret location in Pakistan.

Fingers crossed, and prayers going out for a quick and safe eradication of this evil beast and all with him.

4 posted on 03/06/2004 4:47:51 PM PST by Coop ("Hero" is the last four-letter word I'd use to describe John Kerry)
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To: Pokey78
Sounds like we're getting close !!!
5 posted on 03/06/2004 4:47:53 PM PST by 11th_VA (And that's all I have to say 'bout that ...)
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To: Coop; Pokey78; Grampa Dave; NormsRevenge; BOBTHENAILER; onyx; Brad's Gramma; Howlin; tubebender; ...
Hot news as another one bites the dust!!!
6 posted on 03/06/2004 4:51:07 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Coop
(+)
7 posted on 03/06/2004 4:51:33 PM PST by patton (I wish we could all look at the evil of abortion with the pure, honest heart of a child.)
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To: woofie
What ever happened to "Loose Lips Sink Ships". Seems to me that this info should be kept secret so as not to spill the beans allowing our forces to do their jobs more secretly.
8 posted on 03/06/2004 4:52:08 PM PST by Justice
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To: Pokey78
His days are dwindling...
9 posted on 03/06/2004 4:53:22 PM PST by Levy78
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To: blam; Gritty; farmfriend; FairOpinion; calcowgirl; SierraWasp; Carry_Okie
Now what will Sen Kerry and the Democrats have to say about this ruthless hunt?

Oh and the 9/11 families that have been in the news lately?

Daschle , of course, is deeply saddened!
10 posted on 03/06/2004 4:54:01 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Coop
I'd want to know a little bit more about this, as al-Zawahiri's entire family was allegedly killed at Tora Bora back in 2001. Or do all of these jihadis come with extra lives?
11 posted on 03/06/2004 4:54:20 PM PST by Angelus Errare
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To: woofie
Sounds promising

But Kerry and the 'Rats are betting against the US troops. My guess is that's the losing side of the bet.

12 posted on 03/06/2004 4:55:43 PM PST by PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
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To: Pokey78
"part of an unofficial deal, in return for Washington supporting President Pervez Musharraf's controversial decision to pardon Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man behind Pakistan's nuclear bomb, for selling nuclear weapons materials on the international black market."

Herein lies a Kerry media blitz! "OK Bush you might have captured Ben Laden, but at what cost? The release of a Pakastani nuclear expert"?

13 posted on 03/06/2004 4:59:03 PM PST by fuzzthatwuz (I really dislike Kerry and what he represents)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
It won't be long.
14 posted on 03/06/2004 5:00:51 PM PST by blam
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
It does sound good but I fear civil war in Pakistan will be the price to be paid...
15 posted on 03/06/2004 5:02:29 PM PST by tubebender (Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see...)
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To: PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
Hate to say this, but it must be said; would not be surprised if info is "inadvertently" leaked by the Dummyrats to give a heads up to the cave dwellers. Have noticed that CNN seems to be reveling in broadcasting new info about tracking, etc. May we prevail despite so many forces working against us.
16 posted on 03/06/2004 5:03:34 PM PST by Use It Or Lose It ( You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.)
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To: Pokey78
He warned: "You know that almost every tribesman is loaded with weapons in the tribal region and if they are pushed to the wall they would never hesitate to take the law into their own hands."

WHAT law?

Isn't that most of the problem in the "tribal areas"?
17 posted on 03/06/2004 5:09:06 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (The world needs more horses, and fewer Jackasses!)
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To: Pokey78
Fascinating:

"It's a quid pro quo: we're going to get our troops inside Pakistan in return for not forcing Musharraf to deal with Khan."

The Khan nuke-proliferation revelations are being artfully leveraged for scrotal torque on the Paks, gaining us the long-coveted boots-on-the-ground in the border territories. Impressive! That, ladies and gentleman, is how to play the game.
18 posted on 03/06/2004 5:11:45 PM PST by RightOnTheLeftCoast (You're it)
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To: blam; Pokey78; tubebender; PeoplesRepublicOfWashington; Dog; Cap Huff; Coop
Oh OH!

Here comes the next campaign from the Leftists via the NY Times:

As U.S. Detains Iraqis, Families Plead for News

_____________________________________________________________________________________

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 6 — Sabrea Kudi cannot find her son. He was taken by American soldiers nearly nine months ago, and there has been no trace of him since.

"I'm afraid he's dead," Ms. Kudi said.

Lara Waad cannot find her husband. He was arrested in a raid, too.

"I had God — and I had him," she said. "Now I am alone."

In Abu Sifa, a sunbaked village north of Baghdad, entire swaths of farmland have been cleared of males — fathers, sons, brothers, cousins.

There are no men to do men's work. Women till the fields, guard the houses and hoist sacks of grapefruit on their backs.

Excerpted!!!!!

Found via the Drudge Report.

19 posted on 03/06/2004 5:15:26 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Now what will Sen Kerry and the Democrats have to say about this ruthless hunt?

Simple. This is just another attempt by Bush to change the subject from the critical issue of overtime pay. sarcasm off

20 posted on 03/06/2004 5:16:40 PM PST by prov1813man
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