Pakistan's intellegience services have arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader responsible for the militant group's international operations, an army statement said today.
Younis al-Mauritani and two other al-Qaeda operatives, Abdul Ghaffar al-Shami and Messara al-Shami, were captured in Quetta, capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, said the e- mailed statement.
The arrest, which follows months of US-Pakistani tension over counter-terrorism cooperation, is part of "a strong, historic intelligence relationship" between the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Directorat, known as ISI, and US intelligence agencies, the statement said.
The army statement described Al-Mauritani as "al-Qaeda commander for external operations." It said he "was tasked personally by Osama bin Laden to focus on hitting targets of economical importance in the United States of America, Europe and Australia" and envisioned attacks on "gas/oil pipelines, power-generating dams" and oil tankers or other ships.
The White House today hailed the capture as an example of counterterrorism co-operation, and a US official said the United States had provided "critical" tips and technical help.
The militant had been involved in plotting attacks against the interests of the United States and other countries, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said after Pakistan announced that it had captured Younis al-Mauritani.
"This is an example of the longstanding partnership between the US and Pakistan in fighting terrorism, which has taken many terrorists off the battlefield over the past decade," Mr Earnest said in a statement issued while President Barack Obama was visiting Detroit for a Labor Day speech.
"We applaud the actions of Pakistan's intelligence and security services that led to the capture of a senior al-Qaeda operative who was involved in planning attacks against the interests of the United States and many other countries," he said.
In Washington, a US official said Mauritani's capture was "another major blow to al-Qaeda," adding: "The US provided critical lead information and technical assistance in working with Pakistan to eliminate the threat posed by this terrorist."
Mauritani played "an absolutely central role in planning and coordinating al-Qaeda's operations in Europe, plots that targeted both European and American interests," the official said.
"The Pakistanis deserve real credit for their hard investigative and operational work in taking deadly threats like al-Mauritani off the battlefield," the official said.
Reuters