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May 4, 2005
Senior AQ Leader Arrested In Pakistan

The Pakistanis arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader who not only ran the terrorist network in Pakistan but also allegedly masterminded two assassination attempts on Pervez Musharraf. Abu Farraj al-Libbi has been held for several days by security forces, who held off on announcing his arrest until this morning:

Pakistani security forces have arrested the al Qaeda mastermind who planned assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Wednesday. ...

Al-Libbi, a native of Libya who authorities say is a close associate of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden and acted as al Qaeda's operational chief in Pakistan, was arrested earlier this week, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press. ...

Al-Libbi is accused of masterminding two bombings against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in December 2003. The military leader escaped injury but 17 others were killed in one of the attacks.

He is accused of taking over as al Qaeda's operational chief in Pakistan after the March 1, 2003, arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the terror network's alleged number three. Mohammed was later handed over to U.S. custody and his whereabouts are unknown.

The Pakistanis captured al-Libbi after a shootout in their northwest provinces, an indication that Musharraf's efforts to woo the chieftains of the area may be paying off. One cannot doubt the pleasure Musharraf will have in trying the man most responsible for the twin assassination attempts on his life, although hopefully the Pakistanis can get some decent intelligence information from him and his partner first.

Musharraf will not likely share al-Libbi with the Americans, even though he has turned over more than 700 suspected AQ operatives to us since 2001. The FBI doesn't have al-Libbi on its wanted list, and given the issues involved with the Pakistani operations al-Libbi ran, we're unlikely to develop a late interest in him at Musharraf's expense.

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Posted by Ed Morrissey at May 4, 2005 7:10 AM

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» War on Terrorism - A GREAT CAPTURE from Scared Monkeys
Looks like we can fight a War on Terrorism and one in Iraq at the same time. How is this possible Democrats? From the Fox News: Pakistan arrests Abu Farraj al-Libbi, a senior Al Qaeda suspect wanted in two attempts to assassinate President Gen. Pe... [Read More]

Tracked on May 4, 2005 9:33 AM

» #3 QAEDA CREEP CAPTURED from THE TOMO REPORT
Good news no matter how you look at this one... although I am sick of catching the #3 guys... How about #1 and #2? [Read More]

Tracked on May 4, 2005 2:59 PM

» Newsbite: AL Qaeda Leader Caught from Obviously Right
Let's hope the delicate sensibilities of Pervez Musharraf's government aren't offended by a couple of dozen rounds of rough questioning, because the man sounds like a prime intelligence source. [Read More]

Tracked on May 5, 2005 1:59 AM



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