For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 2, 2002
Statement by the Press Secretary
We believe that one of the individuals captured by Pakistani
authorities in recent raids is Abu Zubaydah, who is a key terrorist
recruiter, an operational planner, and a member of Usama bin Laden's
inner circle.
Pakistani officials led a series of raids into suspect extremist
hideouts in the early morning hours of March 28th. This
individual was captured in one of the raids in the town of Faisalabad,
along with dozens of Arab and Pakistani militants.
US officers supported this operation, but the raids were both led
and carried out by Pakistani authorities.
The individual we believe to be Abu Zubaydah was found at one of
the locations originally targeted in the Pakistani raids. He
was shot several times as he attempted to escape the raided compound.
He is currently receiving medical attention. For
security reasons, we are not going to discuss his
location. He will be interrogated about his knowledge of
ongoing plans to conduct terrorist activities.
This represents a very significant blow to Al-Qaida.
###
|