Suspected Al-Qaeda Leader Arrested

reported Pakistani authorities have captured an al-Qaeda leader from Libya, Abu al-Faraj, an action hailed by U.S. President George W. Bush as a "critical victory" in the war on terrorism. Abu al-Faraj, also known as al-Libi or ``the Libyan,'' was arrested a few days ago in connection with the December 2003 attacks on President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said. He is being interrogated by Pakistani security forces, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told reporters today in the capital, Islamabad.

Al-Faraj was a "top operative" in the terrorist organization that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S., Bush said during remarks at an event in Washington. White House spokesman Scott McClellan described the capture "as the most significant since Khalid Sheikh Mohammed." Mohammed, detained in March 2003, was the al-Qaeda operations chief responsible for planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., according to U.S. authorities.

This was a big success, and hopefully he will yield as much information as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed