Pakistan captures al Qaeda leader

Thursday 21 June 2012

PAKISTAN has captured an important al Qaeda leader in an operation near the Pakistan-Iran border, amid criticism from the US the country was not doing enough to fight militancy.

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Islamabad

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said during a trip to Kabul that stabilisation efforts in Afghanistan would remain difficult as long as militants had safe havens in Pakistan, and that Washington was "reaching the limits" of its patience with Islamabad. Pakistan denies it allows safe havens to insurgents.

Pakistani officials said the captured al Qaeda leader was Naamen Meziche, a French national of Algerian origin, who is believed to have links with militant groups based in Europe. Media reports say he may have played a role in the 9/11 attacks.Meziche worked closely with another al Qaeda leader, Younis al-Mauritani, who was responsible for international operations, Pakistani officials said. Mauritani was captured by Pakistani authorities in September last year.Pakistan officials did not specify the time or location of Meziche's capture. They claim he was the ringleader of a group of 11 people who left Germany in 2009 to fight US-led forces in Afghanistan.

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Pakistan captures al Qaeda leader

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