Key al-Qaida leader caught

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The capture of Abu Zubaydah, al-Qaida’s top surviving operational commander, is one of the most significant accomplishments in the U.S. war on terrorism, officials and experts said Monday.

In Zubaydah’s head, U.S. officials believe, are the names, faces and locations of numerous al-Qaida operatives the world over. He may also know the hiding place of Osama bin Laden.

"It’s a major, major victory, if not the biggest victory so far," said Stan Bedlington, a former senior terrorism analyst with the CIA. "He’s the biggest fish that we’ve caught."

Pakistani authorities, in concert with the CIA and FBI, captured Zubaydah in a raid Thursday at a compound in Faisalabad, far from the Afghan border, U.S. officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Zubaydah was shot three times trying to escape but was expected to survive, said one official.

Zubaydah, who is in U.S. custody, acknowledged his identity, said Pakistani officials and others familiar with his capture. Other past associates have also identified the captured man as Zubaydah, U.S. officials said.

Only bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahri and Mohammed Atef ranked higher, and Atef was killed by U.S. airstrikes in November.

Zubaydah, a 31-year-old Palestinian who was born in Saudi Arabia, has been linked by intelligence and police officials to at least five al-Qaida terrorist plots, including the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The extent of his role, however, has not been fully determined.

Captured al-Qaida operatives said he organized the millennium plots to blow up Los Angeles International Airport and the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman, Jordan, which is frequented by American tourists. Both plans were thwarted.

Think of him as a choke point between bin Laden’s will and actual terrorist attacks, said Vince Cannistraro, a former senior CIA counterterrorism chief. Where bin Laden and al-Zawahri would set policy, Zubaydah would implement it.

U.S. officials said when the inner circle would call for a bombing of an embassy, Zubaydah would select the embassy, cell and method of attack.

"He was the guy that had the direct contact with prominent al-Qaida cell leaders abroad, and he knew where they all were," Cannistraro said. "He would have been the guy coordinating new attacks."