Qaeda No. 2 Behind U.K. Terror Plot?

Pakistan: Al-Zawahri 'Probably' Sanctioned Plot Against U.S.-Bound Flights

(CBS/AP)  A Briton identified by Pakistan as a key suspect in the London airliner terror plot has links with an outlawed Pakistani militant group, and interrogations of those in custody indicate al Qaeda's leadership sanctioned the foiled plan, intelligence officials said Thursday.

Questioning of some of the up to 17 suspects detained in Pakistan over the alleged plot revealed that al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri likely approved the plan to blow up passenger jets flying from London to the United States, a senior Pakistani intelligence official told The Associated Press.

"We have reason to believe that it was al Qaeda sanctioned and was probably cleared by al-Zawahri," the official on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

Pakistan's investigations also revealed that a British national arrested in Pakistan last week, Rashid Rauf, planned the plot and recruited people in Pakistan, the official said. Rauf had also made contacts with people in Britain to take part, he said.

He said Rauf was operating under an al Qaeda mastermind whom the official declined to identify. Other intelligence officials have said Rauf had been in contact with the purported No. 3-ranked al Qaeda leader at large in neighboring Afghanistan.

Authorities are searching for three more suspects — a British Muslim of Afghan origin, an Eritrean national and a Pakistani — that suspects already detained in Britain and Pakistan, including Rauf, have told interrogators are in Pakistan, intelligence officials said.

All the officials spoke on condition anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation into the plot, which has also prompted 24 arrests in Britain and new security measures on commercial flights around the world.

Pakistan's government last week identified Rauf as a "key person" and said it was linked to al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but have given few other details, while authorities in Britain have closely guarded information about the investigation. His brother, Tayid Rauf is among the plot suspects detained in Britain.

An intelligence official and a relative said that Rauf has links with outlawed Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed and is related by marriage to its leader.

Hafiz Mohammed Sohaib, who teaches at an Islamic school here in the eastern town of Bhawalpur, told AP on Wednesday that his sister married a man by the name of Khalid Rauf three years ago. Police told Sohaib's family that Khalid was an alias for Rashid Rauf.

He said police detained Rauf as he tried to leave the town on a bus to the nearby city of Multan on Aug. 9 — two days before suspects were rounded up in Britain.

Bhawalpur, a stronghold of Jaish-e-Mohammed, lies about 310 miles southwest of Islamabad.

Several days after his arrest, police commandos and plainclothes officers raided Rauf's home and confiscated a computer and identity documents, Sohaib said.

Sohaib did not know if Rauf held British citizenship and knew him only as a seller of refrigerators.

Sohaib said his other sister is married to the brother of Maulana Masood Azhar, the wanted head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group that fights Indian security forces in Kashmir and has been blamed by India for a deadly attack on India's parliament in December 2001 that almost sparked war with Pakistan. The group has also had links with the Taliban.

But a Jaish-e-Mohammed spokesman denied on Thursday that Rauf had ever been a member of the group. "He had never been a member (of Jaish-e-Mohammed). We have not even seen his face," said Mufti Abdur Rauf.

Britain is expected to seek the extradition of Rashid Rauf, who moved to Pakistan shortly after his maternal uncle was stabbed to death in April 2002. He was reportedly a suspect in that murder and police raided his Birmingham home as part of the homicide probe.

A British district judge ruled Wednesday that British investigators have until next week to investigate 23 suspects arrested in the airline terror plot.

CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports new anti-terror laws give the British government up to four weeks to hold suspects without charges — but lawyers must periodically appear before a judge to make the case for continued confinement.

Scotland Yard said Wednesday night that one person arrested earlier this week as part of its investigation was released.

Meanwhile, analysts say British Airways alone has lost almost a hundred million dollars over the past week because of flight cancellations, delays and other problems in the wake of the foiled terror plot, reports CBS News' Amy Guttman.

[jasonking4]

Just a general reply back. Firstly nobody has addressed the fact that Israel is illegally (according to the UN) occupies the West Bank and other lands belonging to Syria and Lebanon. Now if these problems were sorted, which is very easy to do, then muslims who lived under repressive and/or undemocractic regimes would turn their attentions to their own problems.

However there are vested interests in keeping the status quo, not least by arab/persian regions and of course by Israel and the US (Israel for the land, US for energy supplies).

Flying by commercial airliner is still the safest form of travel, you are more likely to die by crossing the road or being shot.

[flippin4fish]

REAL WARRIORS???? How can anyone be a real warrior hidding behind children and women...blowing up kids while there playing etc...These people have no brains!!!!It's sad to see people having to live the way they do brought up hating Americans etc...They are tought this at a very young age... Two things (1) Let them kill each other off..(2)get the word out and say ok everyone that wants a change freedom from this go to another country and just NUKE the rest...

[urxlncy]

There you are...willing to fight with any means for your land and freedom. No wonder. The "rocket launching scum bag" fought in his will to save his land and freedom. Don't look at Hezbollah's ideology as te@@@rism first, but when it comes to fighting for freedom of their own land occupied then that very ideology will make a human do anything? The birth of Hez was in 1982 if you will..what happened was the izzis occupied their land then. You can look at the history of a country that fought for freedom or anyone fighting now. They all are fighting for the same...land and freedom. Who doesn't like freedom for their land? Now there is peace in Lebanon, right? They got war and gave war back.

I hope you are NOT wrong about Queda No. 1. What ever happened to him I feel he is being safeguarded by a country. Where the birth of many cells take place. And in this story it is mentioned which groups are getting strong also. I really appreciate your previous response anyway?

[tellitasitis]

response to jasonking4


personally if I had hezbalognia's in my neighborhood I'd have 2 choices

1. leave and protect my self and family from them using me and my children as a shield, and go in search of the freedom I hear my brethren speak of that they have found in distant lands OR

2. rid my neighborhood of the scum, and if that meant I dust off my 306 and snipe the dirty *** as they try and launch their rockets out of the window of the house down the street or in some other way fight for the freedom my land so deserves then so be it

trust me if I see a rocket launching scum bag hiding in my neighborhood tonight on the way home from work I am not going to go to my house and prepare my speach on how wrong it is that the guy who is getting hit by this nimwits rockets is so wrong for blowing up the neighborhood while trying to stop him.......

[tellitasitis]

response to urxlncy

"Real warriors probably do not depend completely on tanks, planes, missiles and bombs. A warrior probably should use use his own smartness in defending by ambushes also like the Hezballah fighters did. That's real guts..."

RIGHT.... it takes real guts to hide behind human shields of women and children

AND osama the salama IS dead - otherwise why haven't we seen any "current" photos of the guy holding a current "Iranian" newspaper then..
(notice the 1st pic you see of fidel he IS holding a current newspaper in hand proving he is still with us)

[urxlncy]

Agree with Jasonking: Real warriors probably do not depend completely on tanks, planes, missiles and bombs. A warrior probably should use use his own smartness in defending by ambushes also like the Hezballah fighters did. That's real guts...

Leave alone Hezbollah..If Quaeda No. 1 is still alive why is he still not caught by the best intelligence and best army in the world!!? That will be the real win for the US. Without that no matter what is done it is just going to be a "patch work". Interesting that some people want to kill for their ideologies. Media for god sakes, they already talk about the splitting of Iraq. Is it really a proposal by Iraqis ?
I seriously doubt it.

[jasonking4]

still doesn't change the fundamentals, that israel has to give up the west bank and gaza and allow the arabs (and jews) to decide their own destiny without trying to kill them and steal their land.

just as many people have warned the world of the fascist agenda of zionism, and you will find that many of the movements you decry were borne out of a reaction to this ideology.

Place yourself in the situation of a palestinian, would YOU stand by and watch someone STEAL your land, deny you your basic freedoms and surround you in what is in effect the largest concentration camp in the world. Or would you fight back?

[tellitasitis]

and it starts

YEARS ago the Lebaneese people knew of this infection growing in their region and were told to do something about it the or there would be problems down the road.....

and now there have been problems - down the road

[jasonking4]

REAL WARRIORS? REAL WAR? I think you have hit upon a novel concept here. Why don't we take away all those cruise missiles, F16s, Apache helicoptors from Israel and ask them to meet Lebanese fighters on a field to fight like real warriors. Do real warriors blow up appartment blocks with civilians inside as Israel did quite blatantly in Lebanon? When the West Bank and Gaza are returned to Palestinians and the lands belonging to Syria and Lebanon then there will be peace. Ask yourself why this hasn't happened?

[tellitasitis]

very well said!!! can't wait for the bleeding hearts to read your message though and see what kind of sad slobbery oh we can't treat em that way comments you get...... should be good - I'll check back


also I will add as you say at the end, these people (in these areas) must be aware of the current situation (I mean if I saw someone carrying a shoulder launched missle into their house in my neighbohood??) and if they truly want to be free of these terrorists, I think when things get started I would get out of the way, or how about this maybe even help, and if they don't want to be free of them well then....

[hrhkee]

I have three points to make.

1. Israel made peace with sensible Arabs who know the value of life and who respect the power of war to destroy life. This proves Jews, Christians and Muslims can get along. So far Muslims are the only ones seeking to destroy another religion and expand like fascists do.

2. Since radical Muslims do not know the value of life and continue to use civilians as shields or weapons then there is no surrender they must be destroyed. They refuse to implement change through peaceful means so these fascists must face the power of real warfare and face it NOW! Not politically driven warfare, REAL WAR lead by soldiers who know that wars should not be fought unless it can be won and winning means decisive victory; which ends in peace.

3. Real warriors do not act like Iran, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah and their kind. Real warriors who decide there must be war would face their enemy on the field of battle... instead of using women and children as weapons, shields for their weapons and tactics. Since its guerilla or %u201Cgorilla%u201D war they want, I urge the US, Israel and its NATO allies to treat the hate mongers like the rabid animals they are.

Any nation, who harbor these thugs or is afraid of ousting these thugs, should ask for help or get out of the way when war comes. Either that or die with them.

JM

No, I am not G. W. Bush%u2026 Quite contraire.