Abu Faraj al-Libbi Arrest in Pakistan Points to Young al Qaeda

The high profile arrest Monday, May 3, of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, 40, the man responsible for al Qaeda’s operational planning and execution in Pakistan, was followed three days later by the capture of 18 members of his network.

He was taken after a gun battle in the Mardan Division of Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province which borders Afghanistan. DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources sayal-Libbi, a Libyan national aged 40, moved to Mardan recently from his Waziristan hideout when a Pakistani Army military operation made it unsafe. The new Mardan hideout was raided by officers of the ISI-Inter-Service Intelligence. They were acting on a tip from none other than the head of US Central Command, who paid a surprise visit to Pakistan on the morning of May 3 and conveyed the information to president Pervez Musharraf.

The raid, which yielded the arrest of four other foreigners whose nationalities have not been disclosed, turned into a chase when two of the suspects fled on a motorbike. One, clad in a Burqa, was later identified as al-Libbi, The chase involving three vehicles ended when security officials overpowered the man driving the bike. They also fired at the second fugitive, but he ran towards a half-built house, jumped into an adjoining house and locked himself in a room.

When efforts to break open the door failed, police lobbed a teargas canister inside the room through smashed windowpanes. "From the smoke-filled room emerged a young man, hands up and head slightly bowed. He was unarmed and later identified as al Qaeda's chief operational commander in Pakistan, Abu Faraj Al Libbi," a police official said. When he was frisked, nothing but a cell phone was found on him. But before the police could talk to him, intelligence officials whisked him away, bundled him into a double-cabin pick-up with tinted panes and drove off. Some officials said that Libbi and his four comrades were immediately flown to Rawalpindi for preliminary interrogation.

American counter-terror experts told DEBKAfile that lacking a dedicated infrastructure to recruit militants for terrorist operations in Pakistan, al Qaeda was using informal connections with local militant groups to obtain logistical support as well as operational collaborators. Before September 11, 200, the sources said, Osama bin Laden targeted the US, while his lower-profile Pakistani allies -- radical groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkatul Mujahideen - would concentrate on Indian-administered Kashmir.

But heavy pressure on al Qaeda from President Musharraf, who in turn is leaned on by America, has caused al Qaeda and these groups to fuse their efforts more fully. Local groups are fighting back with attempts to physically eliminate Musharraf, by sheltering fugitive al Qaeda leaders and by organizing regional attacks against American targets.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources also reveal that, since entering its second term, the Bush administration has quietly initiated a new phase in the war on terror, adjusted to counter perceived threats from the new and deadly al Qaeda breed spawned since 9/11. Very little is known about the new structure, its central command, and whereabouts. “No longer is the US global effort focused on the hunt to track down Osama bin Laden; instead, the search is on for his links,” say the sources.

In any event, most of the earlier al Qaeda cells have either been caught or exposed and are no longer able to operate effectively. They have been replaced with a fast-growing network which takes its inspiration from Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Running it to ground, US and Pakistani intelligence agencies both believe, will uncover its links to the two leaders. Debriefings of the latest crop of al Qaeda detainees begin to lift the veil on the new structure’s organization and reveal it as tight and tough with very few weak points. But no clue to the top men’s whereabouts has been elicited.

The underground al Qaeda core in Pakistan provides administrative support to its local operatives besides arranging finances for operations. It employs a good number of "foot soldiers," drawn from the virtually bottomless pool of ad hoc members, which also provides manpower for the more senior levels. These operatives are connected by personal relationships to the level above them and are at its disposal. The most prominent feature of the new al Qaeda breed of terrorists is that they belong to a younger generation with strong links to the old guard – often in the form of blood or friendship ties to senior al Qaeda members.

The original al-Qaeda network was manned by zealots in their 40s or 50s, who shared the experience of fighting Soviet occupation troops in the 1980s. American intelligence sleuths believe that age and common combat experience bonded them together. The new recruits - who seem to be rising fast in the hierarchy to occupy posts left empty by leaders arrested or killed - are in their 20s or 30s.

Al-Libbi at 40 appears to have been a link between the old guard and the young generation.

Intelligence findings have remarked changes in al-Qaeda’s pattern of operation. Small independent groups of five to ten members operate under a command that keeps on working even after a major bust. Pakistani officials cite one such group as an example of the new face of Islamic militancy in Pakistan. Its head, Attaur Rehman, a member of the middle-class and graduate of Karachi University, was arrested in June 2004 for masterminding a series of terrorist attacks in the city. Attaur was associated with Islami Jamiat Tuleba, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. He later broke away from the Jamaat to form his own militant group, Jundullah (Army of God), which draws its cadres from the educated and professional classes.

Although Jundullah reportedly receives orders from senior al Qaeda leaders, it has no direct connection to al Qaeda or any other group associated with the network. That is why, police officials say, the arrest of Attaur and his accomplices could not lead them to other al Qaeda cells. They describe Jundullah as a well-entrenched al Qaeda group comprising a few dozen hardcore militants, most in their 20s and 30s. "Jundullah is one of the new and fiercest of the terrorist groups behind the recent spate of violence in Karachi. It hit the headlines after a daring attack on the motorcade of Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Ahsan Saleem Hyat in June 2004. Now serving as Vice Chief of Army Staff, Hyat narrowly escaped death, but 11 people, including eight soldiers were killed on the spot.

Jundullah is believed to be one of several small terrorist cells that emerged after the government's crackdown on radical Islamist elements. An estimated 20 cells, most splinters of the banned militant outfits, are active in Karachi. In recent months, this city has become the most important hotbed of terror in the country.

Many perpetrators of the recent local attacks received their training in camps in the lawless tribal region of Waziristan. They are attempting to cash in on the rising popular disaffection against the Musharraf government’s domestic and foreign policies to expand their support.

The capture of the Libyan is of prime importance to the war on terror in that it knocks out al Qaeda’s senior player in Pakistan, a country which is pivotal to the terror movement’s worldwide enterprise. His activities in recent years were confined to that country and did not extend to other parts of the world.

2 posted on 05/07/2005 1:42:22 PM PDT by nuconvert (No More Axis of Evil by Christmas ! TLR) [there's a lot of bad people in the pistachio business])

It has a lot of interesting info and I think there is a good chance the a lot of it is true.

"since entering its second term, the Bush administration has quietly initiated a new phase in the war on terror, adjusted to counter perceived threats from the new and deadly al Qaeda breed spawned since 9/11. Very little is known about the new structure, its central command, and whereabouts. “No longer is the US global effort focused on the hunt to track down Osama bin Laden; instead, the search is on for his links,” say the sources. "

These are obviously more dangerous - we'll get Bin Laden eventually, but as President Bush always said, this is not just about one man, it's about destroying all terrorist organizations and networks.

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