Pakistan 'catches al-Qaeda chief'

Senior Libyan al-Qaeda suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi has been arrested in Pakistan, the government says.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that Libbi was captured with five other suspected foreign al-Qaeda militants in the past few days
They were captured in a gun battle in Waziristan in North-West Frontier Province, security sources said.

Libbi is said to have become third in the al-Qaeda hierarchy after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was caught in 2003.

Gun battle

Libbi is wanted in connection with two attempts on the life of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan had put a reward of 20m rupees ($340,000) on the head of Libbi in August last year.

"This is a very important day for us," Mr Ahmed said.

Two Pakistani security officials told the Associated Press the men were held after a gun battle in Mardan, 50km (30 miles) north of Peshawar, capital of North-West Frontier Province.

President Musharraf survived two assassination attempts in December 2003 in which 17 people died.

Libbi reportedly took over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's role after the latter was transferred into US custody.

He was allegedly al-Qaeda's number three after Osama Bin Laden and Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has claimed he had the idea for the plane-based attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September, 2001.

Libbi appeared on a most-wanted list last year, along with Amjad Hussain Farooqi, who was killed in a battle with forces in southern Pakistan last September.

Farooqi was also accused of involvement in the assassination attempts.

Pakistan has handed over more than 700 suspected al-Qaeda operatives to US custody.