KARACHI, Sept 15: US and Pakistani agents who are interrogating top terror suspect Ramzi bin Al-Shaiba and other Al Qaeda members have seized evidence in their hunt for more operatives, a Pakistani intelligence official said on Sunday.

He said the investigators returned on Saturday night to two bungalows where some of the suspects were arrested last week.

“The most vital thing they got is a telephone index and an office file containing printouts of some e-mails,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The FBI is firmly in charge of the investigation, he said.

“The Pakistani intelligence officials have been asked to hand over all such information to the FBI and work in accordance with guidelines they receive from the Americans,” the official said.

“These FBI officials are interrogating the suspects according to their methods and even not allowing Pakistani intelligence to interfere. The Pakistanis are supposed to extract maximum information from the low-key suspects and convey it to the FBI men,” the official said.

Al-Shaiba, described by President George W. Bush as “one of the planners and organisers” of the devastating Sept 11 attacks in the US, was among several Al Qaeda members arrested last week in Karachi.

His arrest was seen as the biggest coup against the Al Qaeda network since the capture of Osama’s bin Laden’s key lieutenant, Abu Zubaydah, in Pakistan in March.

Pakistan’s interior ministry has said a second high-level Al Qaeda suspect, who has not been identified, was also among a total of 12 people arrested last week after the FBI intercepted a satellite telephone call.

Sources said the high-profile suspects have been kept in an army facility near the airport.

Pakistani officials said earlier that Al Shaiba, a Yemeni, and the other high-level suspect were expected formally to be transferred to US custody later on Sunday before being flown out of Pakistan.—AFP