WASHINGTON, May 4: US President George Bush said on Wednesday that the capture of Al Qaeda’s operational chief in Pakistan “represents a critical victory in the war on terror”. Addressing a gathering of the Latino Coalition in Washington, Mr Bush diverted from a written speech on his social security reforms, saying: “Before I talk about social security, though, I want to remind you the war on terror goes on. And today’s report on the capture of a top Al Qaeda operative — Abu Faraj Al Libbi — represents a critical victory in the war on terror.”

The announcement provoked a wild applause from the audience who were obviously jubilant to hear about the capture of a suspect authorities in Washington are describing as Al Qaeda’s number three. “Al Libbi was a top general for Osama bin Laden. He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the Al Qaeda network,” Mr Bush informed the audience amid applause.

“His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who was a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom. I applaud the Pakistani government for their strong cooperation in the war on terror,” said Mr Bush.

“I applaud the Pakistani government and President Musharraf for acting on solid intelligence to bring this man to justice.”

President Bush also vowed to continue the fight on terrorism, declaring: “We’ll stay on the offensive until Al Qaeda’s defeated.” The pledge earned him another round of applause from the audience.

Earlier, Mr Bush’s press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters at the White House: “We have brought to justice in one way or another some three quarters of Al Qaeda’s key leaders and associates.”

“Al Libbi’s capture is a great success in global war on terrorism,” Mr McClellan said. “He is one of Al Qaeda’s most senior operational planners and one of the terrorist organization’s top leaders.”

All small and major television and radio news channels in the United States began their broadcast on Wednesday with the news of Al Libbi’s arrest. US counterterrorism experts, who appeared on these shows, described Al Libbi as No3 Al Qaeda figure behind Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri.

They described his arrest as the most significant blow to Al Qaeda since the March 2003 capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, saying Al Libbi may be responsible for planning attacks around the world, including in the United States.

US official said Al Libbi was captured by the Pakistanis through human intelligence or traditional human spying.