Arrest of Top al-Qaida Operative Bolsters War Against Terror

The surprise capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed along with two other al-Qaida members in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi early Saturday is likely to strengthen America’s hand in the war against terror.

Described by U.S. officials as one of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s "most senior and significant lieutenants," Mohammed is expected to hold the key to unraveling the al-Qaida network. He is the suspected mastermind behind the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, which killed about 3,000 people, as well as the attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba on April 11, 2002, in which 19 people were killed --among them 14 German tourists.

Pakistani Interior Minister Faisel Saleh Hayat denied in Islamabad on Sunday reports that Mohammed was already in U.S. custody. "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is in the custody of Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies and until we are satisfied after the interrogation process of the nature of his activities in Pakistan, there is no question of handing him over to anyone," he said.

Raid throws up valuable information

On Sunday, U.S. officials in Washington said names and telephone numbers of so-called sleeper cells of the al-Qaida network in North America were found in Mohammed’s apartment following the raid by Pakistani security officials. Mohammed is alleged to have hired terrorists for a new wave of attacks against U.S. citizens and to have worked on the building of a "dirty bomb," a crude nuclear bomb.

The chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Porter Goss, said the arrest would result in "other very successful activities soon" and suggested that U.S. intelligence was already acting on information seized when Mohammed was arrested. "This is just extremely important and it is going to lead to other very successful activities very shortly, I’m sure," he said.

Mohammed linked to series of killings

Apart from the Sept. 11 attacks and the attack in Tunisia, Mohammed is linked to a host of other killings and terrorist strikes.

He was indicted in the United States in 1996 for his alleged role in a plot to blow up 12 American civilian airliners over the Pacific. Philippine intelligence officials have linked him to a cell accused of plotting to kill Pope John Paul II on a trip to the Philippines in 1995. Mohammed is also suspected of involvement in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and an attack on the U.S. warship Cole in Yemen in 2000.

A Pakistani newspaper has further linked Mohammed to the kidnapping and killing of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. An article said investigators thought Mohammed was the man who slit Pearl’s throat in front of a video camera after the journalist disappeared in Karachi in January 2002 while investigating a story on Islamic extremists.

Washington has put a $25 million price on Mohammed’s head, and he was one of 22 people on the FBI’s list of "most wanted terrorists."

Mohammed's arrest will help German investigations

German intelligence officials, who are conducting their own investigations into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks after the discovery of the Hamburg terror cell led by Mohammed Atta, one of the terrorists who crashed a plane into the World Trade Center, are likely to welcome the news of the arrest.

Mohammed is one of seven "operatives" on the German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation’s list, who has allegedly replaced the collapsed al-Qaida direction around bin Laden, and who now makes decisions on carrying out concrete terrorist attacks.

In the Djerba attack, the office found a direct link between Mohammed and Nizar Nawar, the suspected terrorist behind the attack who is believed to have been killed in the explosion. Nawar is believed to have telephoned Mohammed in Pakistan from his cell telephone, just three hours before the planned attack.

It’s not clear whether Mohammed had any direct contact with the Hamburg terror cell or if he ever stayed in Germany.