ABC News reported on Friday that Pakistani officials have arrested a top Al Qaeda commander and that he could provide clues on the whereabouts of Islamic militant cells worldwide and Osama bin Laden. The television network said Pakistani police arrested Matiur Rehman based on leads in the investigation of a foiled plot to bomb US-bound airplanes from London. US law enforcement officials have been notified by the Pakistanis that Rehman is in custody, according to ABC. No independent confirmation of the report was immediately available. US intelligence officials say they cannot confirm his arrest and remain skeptical of the reports, ABC said. Rehman is seen as a connection between Qaeda and Pakistani extremists in major cities worldwide, ABC said.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government on Saturday confirmed that a senior Qaeda leader based in Afghanistan masterminded the London terror plot. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam refused to give the nationality or identity of the alleged mastermind, and said the disclosure was not meant to shift responsibility onto Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is also suffering because of Al Qaeda terrorism,” Aslam told AP. “But what we have stated, we stand by it: We have evidence that suggests that the plot was hatched by Afghanistan-based Al Qaeda.”
Aslam’s comments follow accounts from Pakistani intelligence officials that an Qaeda leader based in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province masterminded the plans to blow up US-bound jetliners. The officials allege the mastermind was in touch with Rashid Rauf, a Briton arrested in Pakistan and identified by the government as a “key person” in the plot.