Top al-Qaeda aide held

2003-06-27 19:26

Dubai - Ayman al-Zawahiri, right-hand man of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, and Suleiman Abu Ghaith, spokesperson of the terror group, are among al-Qaeda members detained in Iran, Al-Arabiya news channel said on Friday.

Zawahiri, Abu Ghaith and one of bin Laden's sons are among a group of aides of the al-Qaeda chief held in Iran, the Dubai-based satellite television said, quoting "Western diplomatic sources."

Al-Arabiya, which did not name bin Laden's son, said the detainees included Saudis, Kuwaitis, Jordanians and Iraqi Kurds.

An upcoming visit to Iran by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will focus essentially on this issue, it said.

Iranian government spokesperson Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said on Monday that some al-Qaeda members arrested in Iran had been identified but had refused to give any information about themselves, including the position they held within the organisation.

Washington suspects Iran-based al-Qaeda members are implicated in last month's triple suicide bombings in Riyadh.

Iranian leaders said that a handful of members of bin Laden's network were arrested before the May 12 attacks, which killed 35 people.

Recent news reports said that Abu Ghaith, who was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship, and Saad bin Laden, the Qaeda chief's elder son who is believed to play a key role in the organisation, were in Iran.

Egyptian-born Saif al-Adel, thought to have taken over as al-Qaeda's number three from military operations chief Mohammad Atef, who was believed killed in Afghanistan, was also alleged to be in Iran.

So was Abu Mussab Zarqawi, a Jordanian national of Palestinian origin who is thought to have previously operated from neighbouring Iraq.

Iran has brushed off the claims, but has not revealed the identities of the al-Qaeda operatives it is detaining.

- AFX