Senior al Qaeda Leader in US Custody: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 02, 2002

Senior al Qaeda Leader in US Custody: Report

The Pakistani government has turned the most senior al Qaeda member captured since September 11 over to the United States, local media reported Monday.

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The Pakistani government has turned the most senior al Qaeda member captured since September 11 over to the United States, local media reported Monday.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said it had not determined if the man is Abu Zubaydah, a top al Qaeda leader, but the Cable News Network (CNN) quoted a senior U.S. official as saying that the suspect is.

The U.S. government source said Zubaydah was handed over after being captured in a series of raids in Lahore and Faisalabad, Pakistan, last week. Zubaydah was shot three times by the Pakistanis while trying to escape, officials said, and he is undergoing medical treatment in an undisclosed location.

U.S. officials said their top concern is getting information out of Zubaydah as quickly as possible. Officials said he has not been cooperating so far.

Zubaydah is thought to be a 30-year-old Palestinian and operational commander of al Qaeda. For years, he has been in charge of recruiting, training and travel for al Qaeda and is seen as one of Osama bin Laden's key lieutenants.

His capture would be valuable since he is suspected of continuing to plan further terrorist attacks and of being responsible for establishing al Qaeda cells around the world, U.S. officials said.

Born in Saudi Arabia, Zubaydah speaks English and is considered an expert at disguises, skilled at remaining out of sight for years at a time.

Zubaydah is third on the U.S. most-wanted list of al Qaeda leaders, after Osama Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Zawahiri.

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