Al-Qaeda link to plane plot
2006-08-19 12:34
Islamabad - A son-in-law of al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahri was the mastermind of a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners unearthed in Britain this month, a Pakistani newspaper said on Saturday.
British police said on August 10 they had foiled a major plot
to carry out suicide bombings on aircraft bound for the United
States and are questioning 23 suspects.
Pakistan said last week it had arrested seven people,
including two British Muslims of Pakistani descent, in
connection with the plot.
One of the arrested Britons was identified as Rashid Rauf
and Pakistan said he was an al-Qaeda operative with links in
Afghanistan and was central to the plot.
Mastermind being hunted
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, citing what it described as
credible sources, said a son-in-law of the fugitive Zawahri was
the mastermind and was being hunted.
The newspaper did not identify the suspected mastermind but
said Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, was known to have
several sons-in-law.
Senior Pakistani security officials were not immediately
available for comment.
Zawahri is believed to be hiding out along the
Afghan-Pakistani border, in the area of the eastern Afghan
province of Kunar and the Bajaur region in Pakistan.