June 28, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 27,1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

DUBAI, June 27: Ayman al-Zawahiri, right-hand man of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, and Suleiman Abu Ghaith, spokesman of the terror group, are among Al Qaeda members detained in Iran, Al-Arabiya news channel said on Friday.

Zawahiri, Abu Ghaith and one of Osama’s sons are among a group of aides of the Al Qaeda chief held in Iran, the Dubai-based satellite television said, quoting “Western diplomatic sources.”

Al-Arabiya, which did not name Oasama’s son, said the detainees included Saudis, Kuwaitis, Jordanians and Iraqi Kurds.

Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said on Monday that some Al Qaeda members arrested in Iran had been identified but had refused to give any information about themselves, including the position they held within the organization.

Washington suspects Iran-based Al Qaeda members are implicated in last month’s triple suicide bombings in Riyadh.

Iranian leaders said that a handful of members of Osama’s network were arrested before the May 12 attacks, which killed 35 people.

Recent press reports said that Abu Ghaith, who was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship, and Saad bin Laden, the Qaeda chief’s elder son who is believed to play a key role in the orgnization, were in Iran. — AFP