Senior Libyan al-Qaeda suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi
Pakistani intelligence sources said Liby, who had satellite phones and a high frequency wireless when he was caught, had also been in contact with operatives in New York, London and Indonesia and the Philippines -- the Southeast Asian nations where al Qaeda extended its reach.
Pakistan closes net after big al Qaeda catch
By Tahir Ikram
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces have rounded up about two dozen al Qaeda suspects after arresting a man President Bush called "a top general" of Osama bin Laden, intelligence officials said on Thursday.
They said Abu Faraj Farj al Liby, who U.S. counter-terrorism agents say became al Qaeda's third-most important figure two years ago, could provide clues to the whereabouts of bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
Pakistan says Liby was the ringleader of at least two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.
Liby'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 his arrest would have been trumpeted if security forces were hot on the trail of two of the world's most wanted men.
U.S. security officials said they had supplied information that helped track Liby down, but the White House emphasized that Pakistan took the lead in the arrest.
Some Pakistani security sources said the Central Intelligence Agency had been monitoring Liby's movements since February, and orders for the arrest came when it seemed the risk of losing him outweighed the chance of him leading agents to bin Laden or al-Zawahri.
There were varying versions of when and where Liby was run to ground, but the most detailed account was given by policemen in North West Frontier Province and several intelligence sources.
Liby was caught along with four comrades on Monday morning, said Amanullah Khan, deputy superintendent of police in Mardan, a town 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Islamabad.
The militants had been hiding at a shrine on Mardan's outskirts, but fled to a nearby house when they realized they were under surveillance by Pakistani agents, including some disguised in burqas -- the head-to-toe garment worn by Muslim women in the area -- according to one policeman.
Khan said tear gas was used to flush out Liby and his comrades 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."
BREAKTHROUGH
The White House called the arrest the most significant since that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in March 2003 and was the alleged mastermind of al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Liby was a successor to "KSM" -- "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," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters.
Pakistan has decimated al Qaeda in the past three years, arresting and killing hundreds of militants, but bin Laden's network struck back by enlisting like-minded Pakistani Islamist militants.
Hundreds of al Qaeda members arrested in Pakistan have been handed over to the United States in the past, but it was uncertain if Pakistan would do the same with someone who had tried to kill Musharraf.
And after catching Liby, security forces closed the net on other suspects with several raids elsewhere in the country.
They also recaptured a man sentenced to death for his role in one of Liby's plots to kill Musharraf.
Mushtaq Ahmed,
Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar ?? (not sure if this is the same guy or not, but I think so.)
a member of a Pakistani militant group that had forged links with al Qaeda, was caught on the road from Lahore to Islamabad earlier this week, a senior security official said on Thursday.
He had escaped with embarrassing ease from an air force base in Rawalpindi last December.
The official said the timing of Ahmed's recapture was a coincidence, unrelated to operations surrounding Liby's arrest.
But in other swoops 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.
