 News of Abu Farraj al-Libbi's arrest was leaked prematurely to the press by Pakistani authorities, it has been claimed here.
| Comes as a surprise, huh? |
Such news is often not released for weeks or months on end so as not to alert other members of the network. Senior officials told the Washington Times that CIA operatives, some of whom recently served in the US military, are in Pakistan aiding government troops. A report in the newspaper on Thursday said US officials expressed hope privately that if residents of Mardan were willing to turn in al-Libbi, other Pakistanis might be willing to pinpoint Osama bin Laden, for whom a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture or killing has been issued. A US counter terrorism official said al-Libbi worked for Bin Laden in 2002 as chief of his US and African operations before Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's arrest. |