Posted on 08/18/2006 9:26:13 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - ABC News reported on Friday that Pakistani officials have arrested a top al Qaeda commander and that he could provide clues on the whereabouts of Islamic militant cells worldwide and Osama bin Laden.
The television network said Pakistani police arrested Matiur Rehman based on leads in the investigation of a foiled plot to bomb U.S.-bound airplanes from London.
U.S. law enforcement officials have been notified by the Pakistanis that Rehman is in custody, according to ABC.
No independent confirmation of the report was immediately available.
U.S. intelligence officials say they cannot confirm his arrest and remain skeptical of the reports, ABC said.
Rehman is seen as a connection between al Qaeda and Pakistani extremists in major cities worldwide, ABC said.
The noose tightens?
their #3?
An undated photograph of Mati-ur-Rehman, a senior figure from an al-Qaida-linked militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was published in Pakistan newspapers in Karachi August 18, 2004. Two key suspects being hunted in Pakistan were Matiur Rehman and Abdur Rehman, a wealthy British national of Afghan origin, both of whom are said to have al Qaeda pedigrees. REUTERS/Government Handout
I guess the media couldn't keep that a secret, maybe if OBL had not known he was captured, the intel would have been better.
Bump for possible good news.
Officials say Pakistani militant Matiur Rahman (pictured) has emerged as an al Qaeda leader. Also goes by the name of Rashid Rauf. Rahman was arrested in Pakistan for his role in the the plot to blow-up planes leaving Heathrow Airport.
Aug 12, 2006
Go thing the US doesn't have him. The ACLU would be demanding he have constitutional right afforded him.
Had you seen this?
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August 17, 2006
Rehman, Rauf, suspected London Airline Plotters Captured, and the Pakistani Connection
By Bill Roggio
http://counterterrorismblog.org/
Two of the suspected ring leaders of the al-Qaeda London Airline Plot to destroy aircraft en route to the United States have been captured by Pakistani intelligence. Matiur Rehman, who is believed to be a high-ranking leader in al-Qaeda's Pakistan operations, was captured in the Pakistani city of Bahawalpur. Rashid Rauf, who is described as "the planner of the attacks who recruited people to take part in the plot," was also captured in the city of Bahawalpur. His arrest just prior to the announcement of the airline plot is said to have sparked the arrests of al-Qaeda operatives in Britain and Pakistan.
The involvement of Rauf and Rehman highlights the interconnective web of the radical Pakistani terrorist groups. Rehman was a member of Harakat-ul-Jihad-ul-Islami (HUJI) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). As the "keeper of the Jihadi Rolodex," the list of the tens of thousands of jihadis who passed through al-Qaeda's training camps, Rehman is by default affiliated with the hodge-podge of Pakistani terror groups (see my post on Rehman and Pakistani links for more details.)
TIME reports Rauf is the relative of Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader the Pakistani based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) which conducts terror attacks in Indian Kashmir. Rauf's father in law runs the radical "Darul Uloom Madina, one of Pakistan's biggest and most hard line seminaries, with some 2,000 students, in Bahawalpur." To restate, both Rehman and Rauf were arrested Bahawalpur, which is highly unlikely to be a coincidence. Rauf's father founded Crescent Relief, a Muslim charity that purportedly collected funds for earthquake relief and is now under investigation for funneling money to fund the London plot (See Evan Kolhmann's posts on LeT/JuD and the UK connection to earthquake relief .)
One item of note with TIME's article on Rauf. TIME describes al-Qaeda as "Osama Bin Laden's Afghanistan-based network," however this characterization is inaccurate. Al-Qaeda has largely regrouped in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, particularly in the agencies of North and South Waziristan.
Here's hoping they've had him for about 5 days... and there's no more information left to, ...ah, "retreive".
I hope he has been getting lots of rest..
NOT.
Go ROVE!
Yes, I think this is old news....hmmm?
I thought so too, I thought this was reported as part of the plot unveiling.. that's a week ago already.. I didn't put it in Breaking , btw.
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Pakistan looking for 3 suspects in airline plot ^
| Posted by new yorker 77 On News/Activism ^ 08/17/2006 4:08:07 PM PDT · 1 reply · 23+ views The AP via The CBC ^ | August 17, 2006 |
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| Pakistan: al-Qaida approved bomb plot ^ |
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| Posted by new yorker 77 On News/Activism ^ 08/17/2006 4:05:05 PM PDT · 4 replies · 63+ views The AP via Yahoo! News ^ | August 17, 2006 | MUNIR AHMAD |
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| Posted by John Lenin On Bloggers & Personal ^ 08/16/2006 9:53:49 PM PDT · 5 replies · 146+ views Counterterrorismblog ^ | August 16, 2006 10:00 AM | Jeffrey Imm |
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| Top al Qaeda Man In Pakistan Nabbed ^ |
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| Posted by Republican Red On News/Activism ^ 08/17/2006 9:02:48 AM PDT · 32 replies · 894+ views ABC ^ | 8/17/06 | Gretchen Peters and Habibullah Khan |
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| AL QAEDA SANCTIONED PLOT (AL ZAWAHIRI) ^ |
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| Posted by areafiftyone On News/Activism ^ 08/17/2006 5:53:48 AM PDT · 15 replies · 569+ views SKY News ^ | 8/17/06 |
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