Al-Qaida’s reputed No. 3 Abu Farraj al-Libbi stayed silent for hours following his capture this week before confessing his identity to interrogators whose initial results have been forwarded to the US, an intelligence official said today.

US officials believe they have identified a young former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden as al-Qaida’s new chief of terror operations in the Gulf.

A key piece of information leading to the recent terror alerts in the United States was fabricated, it was reported today.

Members of the al-Qaida terror network held an unprecedented meeting in March with Mideast militant groups in Lebanon, ABC News reported last night.