-News for Sun. 31 March & Mon. 01
April 2002 US
Confirms Custody of Senior al-Qaida Commander
VOA
News 1
Apr 2002 19:55 UTC

U.S. officials have
told CNN Television that Abu Zubaydah - a top commander of the al-Qaida
terrorist network - is in U.S. custody in Pakistan.
U.S. media reports
say he was captured during police raids Thursday in Pakistan's Punjab province.
They say American intelligence discovered the hideout of Mr. Zubaydah and
Pakistani police carried out the raids with FBI and CIA agents standing
by.
The reports say Mr.
Zubaydah was shot and wounded in the thigh as he tried to escape the
raid.
The reports say now
U.S. investigators will question him about any terrorist attacks that may be in
the planning stages.
But at a briefing in
Washington, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declined to comment on whether
Mr. Zubaydah is in U.S. custody. And the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad denied
on Monday that the raids were carried out with the U.S. intelligence
help.
Mr. Zubaydah is the
highest-ranking al-Qaida leader arrested since the September 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States.
Officials describe
him as one of Osama bin Laden's chief attack planners. They believe he was
behind failed plots to bomb Los Angeles International Airport and a hotel in
Jordan frequently used by Americans.
Some information
for this report provided by AP.
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