Al Qaeda leader escapes arrest

Published June 18, 2004

PESHAWAR, June 17: An intelligence agency and the crimes investigation department (CID) in a joint raid arrested two Afghan suspects from Qadirabad locality of Gulbahar No.2 here on late Wednesday night.

The raid was conducted on information about the presence of an important Al Qaeda leader, Sheikh Abu Suleman, who is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and carries a head money of $100,000.

The one-arm Egyptian Abu Suleman was not there, but the intelligence agency personnel picked up two Afghan nationals on the suspicion of having links with the Al Qaeda network, sources told Dawn on Thursday. The team raided the house with the help of armoured personnel carriers.

However, they arrested the Afghans without any resistance, the sources maintained. "The law-enforcement personnel blindfolded them by wrapping black cloths on their eyes, handcuffed them and bundled them in one of their official vehicles," said a source, who added that the joint raiding team also took away a computer, some CDs and documents from their house.

They were shifted to some unidentified location for interrogation, he said. Names of the two Afghans could not be ascertained.

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