US praises Pakistan for capture of ‘big fish’

THE White House yesterday praised Pakistan for the capture of alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, calling the arrest of such a “big fish” a major blow to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

US officials said privately the raid that netted Mohammed proved wrong critics who warned that Washington cannot simultaneously fight the 18-month war on terrorism and prepare military action against Iraq.

US President George W Bush was elated on being told of Mohammed’s arrest on Saturday, one of the biggest coups against al-Qaida since the network carried out attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, aides said.

Bush “expresses his deep appreciation and gratitude to (Pakistan) President (Pervez) Musharraf and the government of Pakistan for their efforts this past weekend that led to the capture of Khalid Sheik Mohammed,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

“This is a very serious development, a blow to al-Qaida, and the president is appreciative to Pakistan for the fine efforts they have been carrying out in the war against terror and for their fine work in this most recent success.”

Fleischer refused to say where Mohammed was being interrogated or whether he was in US custody, and declined to echo criticism that Pakistan may have tipped off al-Qaida operatives by announcing Mohammed’s arrest too soon.

“There are just some fish that are so big you can’t keep them quiet. And this was certainly such a big fish,” said the spokesman.

Pakistani and Western officials said Mohammed was due to be flown out of Pakistan yesterday to an undisclosed location, after being questioned by US and Pakistani officials in Rawalpindi where he was captured on Saturday.

The arrest of Mohammed, considered number three in the al-Qaida network after bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, was a major breakthrough in the war on terrorism.

Mohammed is believed to be al-Qaida’s operational director and the architect of the September 2001 attacks, which killed almost 3,000 people.

An uncle of Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted over the 1993 bomb attack on New York’s World Trade Center, Mohammed is believed to have been planning fresh terror strikes.

Mohammed was questioned for a third day by US and Pakistani agents yesterday in an interrogation, analysts said, would seek details of new al-Qaida attacks.

Agents would also seek leads to the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden who has still evaded capture, the analysts said.

Analysts said US and Pakistan agents would work hard to extract information on planned al-Qaida attacks which prompted recent security alerts in Europe and the US, as well as the whereabouts of al-Qaida leader bin Laden.