Senior al-Qaida suspect seized in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A senior al-Qaida leader, described by U.S. counterterrorism officials as the group's No. 3 man and a close confidant of Osama bin Laden, has been arrested after a firefight in northwestern Pakistan, officials said Wednesday.

In Washington, President Bush said the capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi "represents a critical victory in the war on terror," and he praised the Pakistani government and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf for the arrest.

"Al-Libbi was a top general for bin Laden," Bush said. "He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al-Qaida network. His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom."

Bush added, "We'll stay on the offensive until al-Qaida is defeated."

Al-Libbi, who allegedly orchestrated two assassination attempts against Musharraf, was arrested after a firefight on the outskirts of Mardan, 30 miles north of Peshawar, capital of the deeply conservative North West Frontier Province, the government and security officials said.

Al-Libbi, a native of Libya, was arrested earlier this week, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press.

"This is a very important day for us," Ahmed said. "This arrest gives us a lot of tips, and I can only say that our security agencies are on the right track" in the hunt for bin Laden, Ahmed said.

"This man knew many people and many hide-outs."

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Libbi was the No. 3 al-Qaida figure behind bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. Al-Libbi assumed more authority within al-Qaida after the March 2003 arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the official said, adding that al-Libbi is believed responsible for planning attacks around the world, including in the United States.

The official said the relationship between bin Laden and al-Libbi predates the formation of al-Qaida in the 1990s. His association with bin Laden goes back to al-Qaida's early days in Sudan, where bin Laden set up a complex of businesses and terror enterprises in 1991.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao described al-Libbi as an "al-Qaida planner" who held a senior place in the terror group's hierarchy. He said the U.S. government was offering a $10 million bounty for information leading to al-Libbi's arrest, though he does not appear to be on the FBI's list of the globe's most-wanted terrorists.