Ayman al-Zawahiri Surrounded
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James Joyner | Thursday, March 18, 2004 |
CNN: ‘High-value’ al Qaeda target may be surrounded in Pakistan
Pakistani forces have surrounded what may be a “high-value” al Qaeda target in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, President Pervez Musharraf told CNN.“We feel that there may be a high-value target,” Musharraf told CNN. “I can’t say who.”
Two Pakistani government sources told CNN that intelligence indicates the surrounded figure is Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s number two leader.
Pakistani forces are waiting until sunrise to launch a heavy air assault to prevent any members of the al Qaeda group from escaping, sources told CNN.
More than 200 al Qaeda fighters are trying to prevent al-Zawahiri’s capture, the sources said.
Musharraf said the ferociousness of the surrounded fighters indicates that they are protecting someone particularly significant.
Cam Edwards has all the tinfoil hat responses lined up.
Update: Stephen Green links speculation that the capture has occured.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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James,
Thanks for qualifying that as speculation. I'm getting tired of hunting down citings that require a retraction.
Hope the hunt is going well.
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