Pakistan investigates US terror suspect

Intelligence experts were trying to establish the identity of an American terror suspect arrested in Pakistan today as doubts emerged that he was al Qaida’s US-born spokesman.

Pakistani officials contradicted each other on whether the suspect was Adam Gadahn, 31, who has appeared in videos threatening the West.

Two intelligence officers and a senior government official identified the detained man yesterday as Gadahn, but a different official said today the suspect was an American, but not Gadahn.

“We are trying to work out who he is,” said the official. “He is an American, but he is not Adam.”

The suspect was arrested recently in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, the officials said.

Pakistan is under intense US pressure to arrest al Qaida and Taliban leaders living on its soil.

Last month, the country arrested the Afghan Taliban number two commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi. Unnamed officials have also claimed to have detained other leaders in the movement.

News of the arrests has been murky, coming primarily through Pakistani and Afghan officials speaking anonymously. None has been presented before a court or charged.

Baradar’s detention and the other reported arrests have been seen as a sign that Pakistan, which has been criticised in the past as an untrustworthy ally in the fight against al Qaida and the Taliban, was co-operating more fully with Washington.

Pakistani agents and those from the CIA work closely on some operations in Pakistan, but it was not clear if any Americans were involved in the recent operation in Karachi or the questioning of the suspect. In the past, Pakistan has quietly handed over some al Qaida suspects arrested on its soil to the United States.

The arrest of an American militant in Pakistan, even if it turns out not to be Gadahn, would be another example of US citizens travelling abroad to join al Qaida and the Taliban.

Security analysts say such militants, while small in number, are especially dangerous because of their ability to travel the world easier on a Western passport.

In December, Pakistan police arrested five young US Muslims who they allege were trying to link up with militant groups.

Gadahn, the first American to face treason charges in more than 50 years, has appeared in more than half a dozen al Qaida videos, taunting the West and calling for its destruction. The video that surfaced yesterday showed him urging American Muslims to attack their own country.

He has been on the FBI’s most wanted list since 2004 and there is a $1m reward for information leading to his arrest.

He was charged with treason in 2006 and faces the death penalty if convicted. He was also charged with two counts of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.