Posted on 09/02/2004 1:51:47 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - A suspected al-Qaida operative who was captured along with another man during raids in this southwestern city is an "explosives expert" who had arrived here from Iran, a security official said Thursday.
The suspects, an Egyptian named Sharif al-Misri and another man of Middle Eastern origin identified as Abdul Hakeem, were caught Sunday when Pakistani intelligence agents acting on a tip raided a home in Quetta, the capital of the province of Baluchistan.
The arrests were announced Wednesday by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
A security official who is familiar with the investigations of the two suspects told The Associated Press on Thursday that al-Misri had arrived in Pakistan from Iran, where his wife and children have been living since the U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban government from Afghanistan in late 2001.
"He (al-Misri) is an explosives expert. He has told us that his wife and children live in Iran," said the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.
He said al-Misri admitted training militants in Afghanistan but insists he has done nothing against Pakistan.
"So far, it is not clear why he came here," said the official. "We suspect he was on some mission, but we don't have any details."
Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, shares a border with Iran. Pakistani and Iranian border guards often arrest people, mostly Pakistanis, who try to illegally cross the border to travel to Europe in an effort to seek better jobs.
The latest arrests came weeks after Pakistani police and intelligence agents arrested Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian with a $25 million bounty on his head, and Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, a Pakistani computer expert allegedly with links to al-Qaida operatives around the world.
The arrests led to a terror warning in the United States, and counterterror operations in Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has arrested more than 550 al-Qaida suspects and turned most of them over to the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Who's the next contestant on the Bomb-an-Islamofacist-terrorist-supporting-government?
Lets give a warm American welcome to......
IiiiiiRRRRRrrrAAAAaaNNNNNNnnn!
Terry McAuliff said something similar about Kerry and Cambodia... ;-)
*BUMP*!
Iran I suspect will attempt to invade Iraq before it has a chance to solidify its democracy and economy...I just feel it in my bones. The recent news reports and videos of Iran flexing its military and testing missiles tells me that they are sending the US and the middle east a not so subtle message of their intentions. Our technology is more advanced but we don't have the man numbers there to counter Iran should they wish to strike.
I agree,but am not sure what-if anything-we will be able yo do about it IF the Shi'a in Iraq "invite" the Iranians to come "save them" from Sunni terrorism.
I don't know... I don't think Iran will invade Iraq because that would definitely involve the U.N. and it will probably unify the majority of the Iraqis into supporting the coalition, which will blunt the initial wave.
I think they see the writing on the wall. Once we're doing settling down Iraq, they're next on the list... hence they're funding and supporting terrorists and Al Sadr in Iraq, hoping that a less aggressive and more agreeable President is elected in November.
Remember my theory that someone interested in getting Kerry elected was offering political analysis to our enemies? Maybe not, but it is one of my pet conspiracy theories. And with the announcement of Kerry's Iran plan, I am once again suspicious that it goes all the way up into his foreign policy advisory council. Buy off Iran with a weak Iran anti-proliferation agreement... Iran keeps up the pressure in Iraq, because bad news for us in Iraq is good news for Kerry. In a nutshell...
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