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| Phone intercepts triggered al-Qaeda hunt | ||||||||
| 2004-02-27 | ||||||||
Pakistani forces have moved into targeted areas of the countryâs long border with Afghanistan, after satellite telephone intercepts indicated that members of al-Qaida were hiding there, security officials told the Associated Press on Friday.
Though officials insist there was no indication that Osama bin Laden was involved in the conversations, which took place last year, participants discussed a man called âShaikhâ â which is believed to be a code name for the al-Qaida leader.
The operation was based in part on information gleaned from satellite telephone intercepts from the United States and local intelligence data, the security officials said on condition of anonymity.
âSome people who were speaking in Arabic have been heard saying Shaikh is in good health,â one security official told the AP.
It was not immediately clear when the United States shared its data with Pakistan.
U.S., Pakistani and Afghan officials have long suspected that bin Laden has been hiding out in the remote border region. There has been no confirmation or any hard evidence of his whereabouts in more than two years.
Though the troops have been in the tribal regions for more than two years, the security officials say they are being adjusted to suit fresh intelligence data. It was not immediately clear precisely where the forces were placed â or how many were involved. âWe are not close to capturing Osama, but all efforts and operations are directed at finding clues about his whereabouts,â a senior government official told AP. âIt is a tiring and long process.â
Pakistan has so far confirmed only the operation near Wana, but officials told AP they are also âquietly operatingâ in other âmarked areas.â Bin Laden remains the ultimate target. âWe are after him, because his capture will help eliminate terror threat in the region,â one official told AP.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |