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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan: More Americans arrested |
| 2002-06-11 |
| As many as a half-dozen men "of U.S. origin" have been captured in the tribal areas of Pakistan near Afghanistan and handed over to U.S. authorities in an operation to root out al Qaida and Taliban. The men, whose identities were not revealed, were taken prisoner by the Pakistani army following tip-offs by tribal chiefs. Sold 'em out, by golly! "Yes, we confirm it," Zamir Akram, deputy chief of mission at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, said when asked about the arrests. "It is an ongoing operation. We have been arresting people and handing them over to the Americans." It was not known if the five or six men were already in the United States. The definition of "American origin" was also unclear. As in, are they Arab-Americans or are they more Johnny Jihads? The FBI, when asked about the handover, referred all questions to the Justice Department. The Justice Department was not immediately available for comment. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, together with FBI and Department of Defense officials, announced Monday the arrest and detention of New York-born Jose Padilla. Padilla, who allegedly received bomb-making training from al Qaida and was part of a conspiracy to plant a radiological bomb somewhere in the United States. Wonder if they're part of the same bunch or if they're a different plotline? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |