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Senior al-Qaida leader arrested in Pakistan

05 September 2011 20:06 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Pakistan army said Monday that it has arrested a senior al Qaida leader, Younis Al Mauritani, who was mainly responsible for planning and conduct of international operations, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Al Mauritani was nabbed along with two other senior al-Qaida operatives, Abdul Ghaffar Al Shami (Bachar Chama ) and Messara Al Shami (Mujahid Amino) from suburbs of the southwestern city of Quetta, said an army statement.

Al Mauritani was tasked personally by Osama bin Laden to focus on hitting targets of economical importance in the United States of America, Europe and Australia.

He was planning to target the U.S. economic interests including gas and oil pipelines, power generating dams and strike ships and oil tankers through explosive-laden speed boats in international waters.

Trough this critical arrest, another fatal blow has been delivered to al-Qaida, the statement said.

This operation was planned and conducted with technical assistance of the U.S. intelligence agencies with which Inter Services Intelligence has a strong, historic intelligence relationship, said the statement, adding that both Pakistan and U. S.intelligence agencies continue to work closely together to enhance security of their respective nations.

The intimate cooperation between Pakistan and the U.S. intelligence agencies has resulted in prevention of a number of high-profile terrorist acts not only inside Pakistan and the United States, but also elsewhere in the world, it said.