http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/3168729
Captured al-Qaida leader starts talking Associated Press al-Libbi ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan has shared with the United States initial results of its interrogation of reputed al-Qaida No.3 Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who stayed silent for hours after his capture this week before confessing his identity, an intelligence official said today. Al-Libbi was nabbed Monday after a firefight with security forces near a town in northwestern Pakistan. President Bush hailed the arrest as a victory that removes a key enemy, and jubilant Pakistani officials said the capture will boost the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The Libyan terror suspect, allegedly a close confidant of bin Laden, was Pakistan's most-wanted man, accused of masterminding two 2003 assassination attempts against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that left 17 others dead. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid confirmed to The Associated Press today that al-Libbi was still in Pakistan's custody and that he was being questioned. He declined to give details. However, an intelligence official who is familiar with the investigation said that al-Libbi was being questioned by Pakistani counterterrorism experts and security officials. He said U.S. officials were not present at the interrogation, but Pakistan had shared with them its preliminary findings. He said that al-Libbi initially refused to speak. "He remained silent for hours, but he had to admit that he is al-Qaida. He had no other option because our people had very solid evidence to prove his identity," said the Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Two days after al-Libbi's arrest security forces raided two homes in the northwestern tribal region of Bajor and arrested 11 terror suspects, including three Uzbeks, an Afghan and seven Pakistanis. On Tuesday, police also arrested six Pakistanis, including two women, and seized weapons after a raid in an upscale residential area of the eastern city of Lahore. Police officials denied reports either of the arrests were linked to information provided by al-Libbi, and said the Lahore operation appeared to be a family dispute. Al-Libbi, who's thought to use at least five aliases, was behind only Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri and bin Laden himself in the terror group's hierarchy, U.S. counterterrorism officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Al-Libbi is believed responsible for planning attacks in the United States, the officials said. Commandos seized al-Libbi along with another foreigner Monday after a firefight outside the hardscrabble town of Mardan, about 30 miles from the northwestern city of Peshawar, Pakistani officials said. The arrests were announced Wednesday. The other suspect was not identified. Witnesses said one of two men was disguised with a burqa, the all-encompassing robe worn by women in conservative Islamic families. Villagers in the Mardan suburb of Shahdand Baba told Associated Press Television News that a small team of Pakistani security agency officers pounced as two men rode by motorbike across a dusty graveyard. One man was captured quickly, while another, who was dressed in a burqa, managed to escape temporarily. He fled to a big home of Mardan resident Zakir Khan and was pursued by Pakistani intelligence agents who "came in through our roof," Khan said. "One man was hiding in the guest quarters and they found him there," Khan said. "He was a fat man with a long beard and a fair complexion. They arrested him." It was not clear if the man was al-Libbi or the other suspect. The arrest broke a months long drought in the dragnet for bin Laden and his top lieutenants. The terror mastermind has evaded a manhunt since the Sept. 11 attacks, appearing periodically on videotapes to warn of more violence. He is believed to be hiding along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. U.S. officials said the arrest was the most significant since the March 1, 2003, capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, al-Qaida's No. 3 at the time, also in Pakistan. They said it was the result of months of close cooperation between Pakistan and the CIA. Al-Libbi's name was not on the FBI list of most wanted terrorist. However, Vince Cannistraro, the former head of the CIA's counterterrorism center, said that did not mean that the rest of the intelligence community didn't want him - badly. "In intelligence circles, he was certainly considered the No. 3 man," he said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. 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