Al-Qaeda suspect handed to US

2005-06-06 15:20

Islamabad - Pakistan has handed to the United States a senior al-Qaeda suspect, Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who was wanted for two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf, said an official on Monday.

Jalil Abbas Jilani of the foreign ministry confirmed a reported comment by Musharraf published in a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, that al-Libbi had been handed over, but gave no further details.

Jilani said: "The president made a statement to this effect. The president's statement was self-explanatory. I don't have further details."

Other officials had described al-Libbi as al-Qaeda's No 3 leader, after Osama bin Laden and Egyptian surgeon, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Al-Libbi held for shootout

However, he did not appear on the FBI list of the world's most-wanted terrorists, and his exact role in al-Qaeda was murky.

He was arrested on May 2 after a shootout in northwestern Pakistan.

On May 31, Musharraf said Pakistan would hand al-Libbi, who was a Libyan, to the US.

In an interview with United Arab Emirates daily, al-Ittihad, he confirmed that had already happened.

Musharraf said: "Yes, we turned Abu Farraj al-Libbi over to the US recently, and we don't want people like him in our country."

The Pakistani leader did not say when or how al-Libbi was handed or and did not provide other details.

In Pakistan, al-Libbi was wanted for allegedly masterminding two attempts on Musharraf's life in December 2003. The president was unhurt, but 17 people died in the second attack.

- SAPA