Pakistan Busts Key London Bombing Suspect

This story was written by CBS News' Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad.

The confirmation came days after speculation began over the pending arrest of a key al Qaeda figure following recent contacts between intelligence officials in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Zabi ul Taifi, a Saudi national, was among seven al Qaeda suspects arrested in Peshawar, Pakistan's northern frontier city, a senior Pakistani security official told CBS News. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. He would not give an exact date for the arrests, but said "this was quite recent."

A Western diplomat with access to information on the manhunt for al Qaeda militants in Pakistan said a team of U.S. intelligence officials witnessed the arrest from a distance.

The diplomat said, however, that more crucial to the arrests than the Americans' involvement was the likely exchange of information between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia during a visit last month by Saudi Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, the chief of Saudi intelligence services.

The prince met several key intelligence officials in Pakistan, and he also spoke to key political leaders including Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

"I believe the Saudis and the Pakistanis have recently exchanged information which helped with this arrest," said the Western diplomat, without giving any specific basis for his information. "The prince's visit to Pakistan was just not coincidental."

Other media reports Thursday suggested it was a tip from American intelligence officials which led to the recent arrests, but Pakistani and other foreign officials have strongly suggested to CBS News that it was primarily information from the Saudis which landed these al Qaeda suspects in custody.

The Pakistani security official who spoke to CBS News said Taifi's arrest "was tremendously good news because it's another example to suggest that we are punching holes in al Qaeda. Increasingly, we are able to target people with a certain standing within the organization," he said.

"Even if Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri are still out loose, other arrests or killings must make senior al Qaeda people very uncomfortable," he added.

It was not immediately clear if Pakistan would hand Taifi over to British officials for prosecution, though the Western diplomat said, given Pakistan's interest in cooperating with British authorities, it was likely that British investigators may be allowed to interrogate him.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on a recent visit to Pakistan, said three-quarters of the terror plots unveiled in Britain had links to al Qaeda in Pakistan. "Given how concerned Britain is about terrorism in Pakistan, the Pakistanis probably see this as good news," said the diplomat.

Four suicide bombers (three of Pakistani origin) blew themselves up on London Underground trains and a bus on July 7, 2005, killing 52 commuters during the morning rush hour.