[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,70533,00.html[/url]
Senior Al Qaeda Member Arrested
Friday, November 15, 2002
By Bret Baier
WASHINGTON — A "senior Al Qaeda member" has been arrested, U.S. officials told Fox News Friday.
The officials did not reveal any details of the circumstances surrounding the arrest, including when it occurred or where the suspect was being held, but they did confirm that a senior Al Qaeda leader is "in U.S. hands."
Sources said the suspect was neither Usama bin Laden nor his number two man, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, but he is one of the "top handful of Al Qaeda leaders."
"Someone who knows al Qaeda would know his name," one official said. "This is a big deal."
Sources told Fox News that authorities were trying to get the Al Qaeda leader out of the country where he was arrested.
The description was deliberately vague because this is an "ongoing operation," sources told Fox News.
Officials called the arrest of this "big fish" a significant intelligence victory, comparable to the capture of Al Qaeda chief of operations Abu Zubaydah, who has provided a wealth of information about the terror network since being taken into custody.[/quote]