Posted on 03/02/2003 7:06:04 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
March 2, 2003, 12:10AM
 Associated Press / FBI Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is shown in these undated FBI handout photos. Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, was arrested in Pakistan, a senior Pakistan government source said. |
The arrest represented a major victory in the U.S.-led global search for pivotal leaders of al-Qaida -- the men who planned the suicide hijacking attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, as well as other terrorist acts.
It was also the most prominent arrest yet in Pakistan, where more than 400 Qaida suspects have been detained, many of whom have been sent on to American custody, in a cooperative effort that has opened President Pervez Musharraf to criticism from Islamic political forces at home.
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AL-QAIDA
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| • The hijackers • FBI's most-wanted terrorists • Terrorist timeline • Hunt for al-Qaida cells • Status of major al-Qaida leaders • Al-Qaida training manual |
The arrest represented a major victory in the U.S.-led global search for pivotal leaders of al-Qaida -- the men who planned the suicide hijacking attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, as well as other terrorist acts.
It was also the most prominent arrest yet in Pakistan, where more than 400 al-Qaida suspects have been detained, many of whom have been sent on to American custody, in a cooperative effort that has opened President Pervez Musharraf to criticism from Islamic political forces at home.
"We have finally apprehended Khalid Shaikh Mohammed," a presidential spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, said late Saturday. "He is the kingpin of al-Qaida."
Mohammed, 37, was whisked out of Pakistan immediately under extremely tight security and was taken by U.S. military transport to an undisclosed location somewhere outside the United States, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.
From the moment of his capture at 3 a.m. local time, U.S. counterterrorism authorities began an urgent effort to disorient and "break" Mohammed, they said. They are attempting to get information from him about planned terrorist attacks that could already be in motion in the United States and overseas, as well as the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.
There was no immediate indication that those efforts were successful. But top U.S. and Pakistani officials said they believe Mohammed has encyclopedic knowledge of current al-Qaida operations, making his arrest perhaps the most significant detention in the war on terrorism.
In Washington on Saturday, the White House issued a statement praising Pakistani and U.S. officials for what it called a joint operation in capturing Mohammed.
"Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is one of Osama bin Laden's most senior and significant lieutenants, a key al-Qaida planner and the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks," said the statement issued by Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. government had offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to Mohammed's capture.
Intelligence on Mohammed's activities was a key factor in the Bush administration's decision to go to orange alert through most of February, U.S. counterterrorism officials said, without providing details. The alert signaled a high risk of terrorist attacks; officials Thursday lowered the alert level a notch to yellow.
But well before then, Mohammed was wanted in connection with plots in the Philippines to bomb trans-Pacific airliners and crash a plane into CIA headquarters. Those were broken up in 1995.
He also has been linked to April's bombing of a synagogue in Tunisia. At least 19 tourists, mostly Germans, were killed then.
Other officials suspect that Mohammed was also involved in the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole in Yemen in October 2000.
Mohammed, 37, was one of three suspected al-Qaida operatives picked up on Saturday morning in Rawalpindi, the old city adjacent to the modern capital of Islamabad.
Mohammed was arrested along with a Pakistani identified as Ahmed Abdul Qadoos, a 42-year-old member of one of the country's main religious parties, Jamaat-e-Islami.
Police did not identify the other man arrested, who was of Middle Eastern origin. But anonymous sources said his name was Saif Al-Adel.
U.S. officials confirmed that Mohammed was in U.S. custody and had been taken to an undisclosed location outside Pakistan.
Mohammed, who was born in Kuwait and studied engineering in the United States in the 1980s, was on the FBI's list of top fugitives.
While bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qaida, may still be alive and in hiding, the capture of Mohammed should deal a blow to the operational capacities of the global terror network.
Pakistani officials said the raid on a suspected terrorist hideout in Rawalpindi on Saturday morning had been the result of intelligence tips and asserted that it had been carried out entirely by Pakistani agents.
Mohammed narrowly escaped capture in a raid about a week ago in the southwestern town of Quetta, a Pakistani government source said. During that raid, a Middle Eastern man, possibly of Egyptian origin, was arrested, according to the source, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. From there, police tracked him down to Rawalpindi.
Pakistan information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed would neither confirm nor deny involvement of FBI officials. Pakistan acknowledges that FBI officials provide support in anti-terror operations here, but deny that FBI agents make arrests. FBI activities in Pakistan have raised concerns here, with religious hard-liners calling for all FBI agents and U.S. military officials to leave Pakistan.
"At least the world can see that Pakistan is supporting (the fight) against terrorism," Rashid said.
Previously, the two most high-profile al-Qaida arrests since the Sept. 11 attacks were in Pakistan. Abu Zubaydah, the alleged number-three al-Qaida member was arrested in March in Faisalabad, central Pakistan. Ramzi Binalshib, part of the Hamburg-based cell of World Trade Center hijackers that included Mohamed Atta, was arrested in September 2002.
The Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and Chronicle Foreign Service correspondent Victoria Burnett contributed to this story.
The next sound you hear will be the moans from the 'RATS that continually bash President Bush. 'Bush has FAILED because he hasn't captured bin Laden !' Give me a break ! ...
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