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https://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/03/18/alqaeda040318
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Al-Qaeda's second-in-command surrounded: reports
Last Updated Thu, 18 Mar 2004 14:48:53
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaeda's second-in-command next to Osama bin Laden, has been surrounded by Pakistani troops near the Afghan border, according to reports.
Ayman al-Zawahri
(AP file photo/Al Jazeera)
The Associated Press, quoting senior Pakistani officials, said the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri has been cornered in an operation that began Tuesday in South Waziristan involving hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers.
Western intelligence agencies say al-Zawahri is the spiritual leader of al-Qaeda and one of the masterminds behind the Sept. 11 attacks.
According to the FBI web site, al-Zawahri is a physician and the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
He is believed to now serve as an adviser and doctor to bin Laden and is currently thought to be in Afghanistan.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told CNN that his troops may have a "high value target."
The U.S. has offered a reward of up to $25-million US for information leading to the capture of al-Zawahri, who is on the FBI's most wanted terrorist list.
He had been thought to be in hiding along with bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan.
Written by CBC News Online staff
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