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Pakistani Troops May Have al-Zawahri Cornered
By PAUL HAVEN, AP
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (March 18) - Pakistani forces believe they have cornered and perhaps wounded Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a major battle near the Afghan border, an area where many believe the world's most wanted terrorist has been hiding, three senior Pakistani officials said Thursday.
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said a ''high value'' target was believed trapped in South Waziristan, a semiautonomous tribal belt that has resisted outside intervention for centuries.
Hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers pounded several fortress-like mud-brick compounds with artillery and fired on them from helicopter gunships, as entrenched suspects fought back hard. An intelligence official said ''dozens'' were killed Thursday.
At least 41 people - 15 soldiers and 26 suspected militants - were killed earlier this week in fighting in the area.
The officials told The Associated Press that intelligence indicated the forces had surrounded the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri in an operation that began Tuesday, the first major break in the world's most intense manhunt in more than a year.
The region has long been considered the most likely hiding place for the top two al-Qaida leaders - but there was no indication bin Laden was with al-Zawahri. However, the two have traveled together in the past, and bin Laden and al-Zawahri appeared jointly in video tapes released shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The United States has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahri's capture. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives doubled the reward for bin Laden's capture to $50 million.
''We have been receiving intelligence and information from our agents who are working in the tribal areas that al-Zawahri could be among the people hiding there,'' a Pakistani military official said. ''All of our efforts are to capture him.''
An intelligence official and a senior politician in Musharraf's government both confirmed the account. All spoke on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence official said information was also coming from some of the 18 suspects captured during Thursday's operation. Some said during interrogation that al-Zawahri was wounded in the raid, the official said. Officials said helicopter gunships and artillery would continue attacking at dawn Friday.
Musharraf told CNN that he'd spoken with the commander of Pakistani troops in the region. He said the commander reported ''fierce resistance'' from a group of fighters entrenched in fortress-like buildings, and that there were indications a senior figure was surrounded.
''He's reasonably sure there's a high-value target there,'' Musharraf said. ''They are not coming out in spite of the fact that we pounded them with artillery.''
The news came the same day as Secretary of State Colin Powell announced in the capital, Islamabad, that Washington was bestowing the status of ''major non-NATO ally'' on Pakistan, and praised the country for its help in the war on terror.
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN she could not confirm the reports.
But, she said, if al-Zawahri were captured, ''it would be of course a major step forward in the war on terrorism, because he's obviously an extremely important figure. But I think we have to be careful not to assume that getting one al-Qaida leader is going to break up the organization.''
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the Pakistanis ''believe there is a high-value al-Qaida target possibly involved'' in the operation. He said he had no information on who the target was. He said Bush was informed of the search.
The 52-year-old former Egyptian surgeon is believed to be the brains behind the terror network, with bin Laden serving more as spiritual leader and financial backer.
Often seen by bin Laden's side in videos released to Arab television networks, the doctor was also thought to serve as al-Qaida leader's personal physician.
Al-Zawahri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad was believed behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat during a Cairo military parade in 1981. He merged the organization with al-Qaida in 1998.
Al-Zawahri has continued to spread his message since the Sept. 11 attacks in audiotapes, the latest broadcast on Feb. 24, in which he taunted President Bush and threatened more attacks on the United States. Another tape criticized France's decision to ban Islamic headscarves in schools.
Under pressure from Washington, Pakistan has arrested more than 500 al-Qaida suspects and has turned most over to the United States. The last major capture was that of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former al-Qaida No. 3, who was nabbed on March 1, 2003, in a house near the capital and quickly delivered to U.S. custody. He is being held at an undisclosed location.
The Pakistani military has been pursuing 100 tribal leaders whom authorities want to roll into their efforts to hunt al-Qaida in the Waziristan frontier. So far, about two-thirds have said they would provide information and turn over any Islamic militants in their territories, American defense officials said.
The others face destruction of their homes by the Pakistani military, officials said.
There have been several anti-terror sweeps in the tribal regions in recent months, but none so bloody as the operation that began Tuesday. Pakistani troops have moved 70,000 troops into the border region, and Musharraf on Monday promised to rid the tribal areas of foreign terrorists.
U.S. officials say they are watching to see if the Pakistani actions send militants back into Afghanistan, where U.S. troops operate freely. The U.S. military on Sunday announced the start of a new operation to track down senior al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives.
Two American soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in fighting Thursday in central Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. At least five attackers were killed in the battle.
The military said that because of the location, the fighting did not appear to be directly related to the siege against al-Zawahri.
Afghan officials told AP they were closely monitoring the Pakistani operation.
''We are hopeful operations being carried out in border regions will yield some desirable results,'' said Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad. ''If a well known figure is part of these captures ... the world will be a safer place.''
Thursday's raid concentrated on three South Waziristan towns - Azam Warsak, Shin Warsak and Kaloosha. Early morning calls from mosques warned residents to leave the area, apparently to give the troops more room to operate.
Powell, who left the country hours before the news broke, also said he believed there was evidence that bin Laden is hiding in the rugged border area.
''No one has seen him, so how can one be sure?'' Powell told Geo TV. ''But he has certainly given evidence that he is alive and active. But we can't be sure.
''And if he is alive and active, and the evidence suggests that he is, and if he is in the area of the Pakistan-Afghan border, that's a very difficult area to find someone who doesn't want to be found.''
---
Associated Press reporters Katherine Pfleger Shrader in Washington, Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
03-18-04 20:41EST
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Pakistani Troops May Have al-Zawahri Cornered
By PAUL HAVEN, AP
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (March 18) - Pakistani forces believe they have cornered and perhaps wounded Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a major battle near the Afghan border, an area where many believe the world's most wanted terrorist has been hiding, three senior Pakistani officials said Thursday.
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said a ''high value'' target was believed trapped in South Waziristan, a semiautonomous tribal belt that has resisted outside intervention for centuries.
Hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers pounded several fortress-like mud-brick compounds with artillery and fired on them from helicopter gunships, as entrenched suspects fought back hard. An intelligence official said ''dozens'' were killed Thursday.
At least 41 people - 15 soldiers and 26 suspected militants - were killed earlier this week in fighting in the area.
The officials told The Associated Press that intelligence indicated the forces had surrounded the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri in an operation that began Tuesday, the first major break in the world's most intense manhunt in more than a year.
The region has long been considered the most likely hiding place for the top two al-Qaida leaders - but there was no indication bin Laden was with al-Zawahri. However, the two have traveled together in the past, and bin Laden and al-Zawahri appeared jointly in video tapes released shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The United States has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahri's capture. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives doubled the reward for bin Laden's capture to $50 million.
''We have been receiving intelligence and information from our agents who are working in the tribal areas that al-Zawahri could be among the people hiding there,'' a Pakistani military official said. ''All of our efforts are to capture him.''
An intelligence official and a senior politician in Musharraf's government both confirmed the account. All spoke on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence official said information was also coming from some of the 18 suspects captured during Thursday's operation. Some said during interrogation that al-Zawahri was wounded in the raid, the official said. Officials said helicopter gunships and artillery would continue attacking at dawn Friday.
Musharraf told CNN that he'd spoken with the commander of Pakistani troops in the region. He said the commander reported ''fierce resistance'' from a group of fighters entrenched in fortress-like buildings, and that there were indications a senior figure was surrounded.
''He's reasonably sure there's a high-value target there,'' Musharraf said. ''They are not coming out in spite of the fact that we pounded them with artillery.''
The news came the same day as Secretary of State Colin Powell announced in the capital, Islamabad, that Washington was bestowing the status of ''major non-NATO ally'' on Pakistan, and praised the country for its help in the war on terror.
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN she could not confirm the reports.
But, she said, if al-Zawahri were captured, ''it would be of course a major step forward in the war on terrorism, because he's obviously an extremely important figure. But I think we have to be careful not to assume that getting one al-Qaida leader is going to break up the organization.''
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the Pakistanis ''believe there is a high-value al-Qaida target possibly involved'' in the operation. He said he had no information on who the target was. He said Bush was informed of the search.
The 52-year-old former Egyptian surgeon is believed to be the brains behind the terror network, with bin Laden serving more as spiritual leader and financial backer.
Often seen by bin Laden's side in videos released to Arab television networks, the doctor was also thought to serve as al-Qaida leader's personal physician.
Al-Zawahri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad was believed behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat during a Cairo military parade in 1981. He merged the organization with al-Qaida in 1998.
Al-Zawahri has continued to spread his message since the Sept. 11 attacks in audiotapes, the latest broadcast on Feb. 24, in which he taunted President Bush and threatened more attacks on the United States. Another tape criticized France's decision to ban Islamic headscarves in schools.
Under pressure from Washington, Pakistan has arrested more than 500 al-Qaida suspects and has turned most over to the United States. The last major capture was that of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former al-Qaida No. 3, who was nabbed on March 1, 2003, in a house near the capital and quickly delivered to U.S. custody. He is being held at an undisclosed location.
The Pakistani military has been pursuing 100 tribal leaders whom authorities want to roll into their efforts to hunt al-Qaida in the Waziristan frontier. So far, about two-thirds have said they would provide information and turn over any Islamic militants in their territories, American defense officials said.
The others face destruction of their homes by the Pakistani military, officials said.
There have been several anti-terror sweeps in the tribal regions in recent months, but none so bloody as the operation that began Tuesday. Pakistani troops have moved 70,000 troops into the border region, and Musharraf on Monday promised to rid the tribal areas of foreign terrorists.
U.S. officials say they are watching to see if the Pakistani actions send militants back into Afghanistan, where U.S. troops operate freely. The U.S. military on Sunday announced the start of a new operation to track down senior al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives.
Two American soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in fighting Thursday in central Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. At least five attackers were killed in the battle.
The military said that because of the location, the fighting did not appear to be directly related to the siege against al-Zawahri.
Afghan officials told AP they were closely monitoring the Pakistani operation.
''We are hopeful operations being carried out in border regions will yield some desirable results,'' said Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad. ''If a well known figure is part of these captures ... the world will be a safer place.''
Thursday's raid concentrated on three South Waziristan towns - Azam Warsak, Shin Warsak and Kaloosha. Early morning calls from mosques warned residents to leave the area, apparently to give the troops more room to operate.
Powell, who left the country hours before the news broke, also said he believed there was evidence that bin Laden is hiding in the rugged border area.
''No one has seen him, so how can one be sure?'' Powell told Geo TV. ''But he has certainly given evidence that he is alive and active. But we can't be sure.
''And if he is alive and active, and the evidence suggests that he is, and if he is in the area of the Pakistan-Afghan border, that's a very difficult area to find someone who doesn't want to be found.''
---
Associated Press reporters Katherine Pfleger Shrader in Washington, Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
03-18-04 20:41EST
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
