Posted on 08/06/2004 3:03:20 PM PDT by Nexus
Pakistan chasing fresh leads on al-Qaeda hideouts
By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad, Rohit Jaggi in London, and Guy Dinmore in Washington
Published: August 6 2004 20:04 | Last updated: August 6 2004 20:04
Pakistan has uncovered fresh evidence as to where al-Qaeda leaders may be hiding along its border with Afghanistan, senior Pakistani officials said on Friday.
The information comes in part from the computer files of Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, alias Abu Talha, a young Pakistani computer engineer allegedly involved with running an email communication system for al-Qaeda leaders. It has led investigators to focus on at least three previously undetected sites. Initial Pakistani reconnaissance suggests that 50-70 heavily armed guards are at each location, indicating the likely presence of senior al-Qaeda figures.
Other sources of information used by Pakistani security have included Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian wanted for the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa; a second African for whom the US has offered a reward of $5m; and at least 20 other members of al-Qaeda.
The boost in the hunt for senior al-Qaeda figures comes only days after the US warned of a terror threat to Washington and New York's financial centres. But it also came as the UK, which has in the past few days detained 13 men over terrorism allegations, warned against unnecessary alerts in a coded sideswipe at the US.
Some British counter-terrorism officials have claimed that information found on Mr Khan's computer was being used by the US and Pakistani authorities to boost their image. David Blunkett, British Home Secretary, said on Friday that the UK was still in the state of “heightened readiness” it had been in since late last year, but added: “There is also a difference between alerting the public to a specific threat and alarming people unnecessarily by passing on information indiscriminately. I think we have got the balance right.”
In Pakistan, officials said the investigation of the new leads was being treated quietly, after an embarrassing incident this year when General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, publicly announced that his troops had surrounded a location in the south Waziristan border region where high-value al-Qaeda targets were believed to be hiding.
Separately, Saudi authorities said another person they had arrested late on Thursday with Faris al-Zahrani, one of the kingdom's most wanted terrorist suspects, would not be named “for the sake of the [national] interest”.
fyi..
He's already in the basement of Madison Square Garden, shckled, and ready for his closeup ... during the balloon drop.
Bush needs something - these jobs numbers today, he's stuck between 43-46% in every poll except Gallup (which appears to be an outlier).
9 kilo ton NUKES penetrate such hardened (Caves) and are ideal to use in remote areas. BOOM Sucker..........
......Gooby Ass-ama Has bin Laudin
No doubt the operation is over with...the ground is being set.
ROFLMAO!!!
A background on the border area Afghanistan-Pakistan can be found in this thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1155685/posts?page=705#705
The capture of Khan was a critical moment in the WOT, IMHO.
Trying to assassinate Musharaff was bad strategy on AQ's part. If they hadn't, Mush wouldn't be after them; he'd say they were in the "wild, lawless tribal areas" and he couldn't do anything about it.
We may get to close that thread soon Adm..
The war in FATA will intensify any day now
Separately, Saudi authorities said another person they had arrested late on Thursday with Faris al-Zahrani, one of the kingdom's most wanted terrorist suspects, would not be named “for the sake of the [national] interest”.
"Bush needs something"
How about a coherent energy plan and enforcement of immigration laws? Short term loss of campaign contributions from oil/immigration lobbies, long term - 20 point election victory.
Agreed.. the anvil is set......now we await the hammer.
Howard Dean questions the timing of this.
For those who may be wondering........
FATA = Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Not to be confused with Finnish American Translators Assoc.
We had to threaten pakistan with its break up to force them to act against al qaeda.
this action is coming 6 years after the kenya embassy bombings and 3 years after 911.
All this time the pakis sheltered these islamists.
The fact that pakistan created and supported al qaeda is proved by the sheer number of al qaeda arrests there.
many more might still be hiding in pakistan.
pakistan created and then sheltered these hooligans for over 2 decades. had we acted in time and had we declared pakistan a terrorist state back in 1993, there would have been none of the world trade center bombings, nor the embassy or cole bombings. We should have resorted to similar measures against saudi arabia and tightened the noose around iran.
That must be quite reassuring to the folks in the UK, who must now be wondering, "what do they know that they aren't telling us?"
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