Al-Qaeda cell caught in US
squeeze By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - An amateurish blunder has
allowed Pakistan to arrest at least 10 members of a
strong al-Qaeda sleeper cell, activated for last
Thursday's attack in Karachi on the convoy of the
powerful
Lieutenant-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, commander V Corps
(Karachi).
Pakistan authorities are expected on
Monday to confirm, among others, the arrest of Abu Mosab
al-Balochi, an Arab, and Daud Badini, a Pakistani Baloch
who has been involved in many sectarian killings, in
connection with the attack, which claimed the lives of
at least 10 people. Al-Balochi had a US$1 million bounty
on his head and is a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad,
the alleged planner of the September 11 attacks on the
United States, who is now in US custody. Sheikh was also
arrested in Pakistan more than a year ago.
Well-placed sources in Pakistani intelligence
organizations have told Asia Times Online that the
suspects were rounded up just hours after Thursday
morning's attack. Also among the suspects is one Attaur
Rehman of the al-Iqwan religious movement, whose head
teaches radical Islam and which has strong links with
sections of the military.
The sources explain
that as soon as the Pakistan military moved into South
Waziristan tribal area last week in its hunt for
al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters believed to be
sheltering there (under intense US pressure), the
sleeper cell was activated in Karachi as retaliation.
With help from disaffected elements in the armed
forces, they devised a plan to go after Hayat's
motorcade. However, a bomb-jamming device in the corps
commander's vehicle crucially delayed the detonation of
a bomb that was intended to take out his car. Instead,
the attackers fired more than 2,000 rounds into the
convoy, killing several army personnel, but their prime
target escaped unhurt.
In the confusion, as the
attackers fled, one of them dropped his cell phone,
which was immediately recovered by members of the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Half an hour later, a
call was received on the phone, trying to confirm the
event. Using sophisticated tracking devices, within
hours of the attack, the ISI raided the residence from
which the call had been made, and the attackers were
caught so unaware that they had not even had time to
change from their blood-stained clothes.
The
intelligence sources tell Asia Times Online that they
believe the Karachi attack was to serve as a blueprint
for others in Karachi, Lahore and the capital Islamabad:
all in retaliation for the South Waziristan operation.
In Karachi they planned to attack shopping areas
frequented by foreign diplomats, and ISI operation
offices near the office of the commander V corps.
The sources say that while this particular
Karachi cell has been broken, it is believed that at
least 25 well-connected (to the military) al-Qaeda
operators are still in Karachi.
The
battlefields of South Waziristan Official figures
claim that at least 35 militants and 15 Pakistani troops
have been killed in fighting in the past few days in
South Waziristan tribal area and security forces claim
to have cordoned off several hideouts being used by
al-Qaeda.
One of these hideouts has been
identified as being used by an al-Qaeda financier, Hadi
al-Iraqi. Along with another top al-Qaeda operator,
Jamal Asim, an Algerian, al-Iraqi arranges finances for
a strong network of terror in cities like Lahore,
Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The networks include al-Qaeda
operators and local jihadis, as well as a segment of the
armed forces, which helps them identify targets and work
out a modus operandi for attacks. These two men are
still at large, most likely in urban areas and planning
for more attacks.
In South Waziristan,
unconfirmed reports suggest that a number of Pakistani
commandos have been killed by insurgent tribes in the
Shakai region.
Reports from the North Waziristan
tribal area say that the Pakistan army is pouring troops
into the Shawal area, including Deray-Nishtar, Manga
Roti, Mera Din, Gurowaik, Dabar Miyani, Gurbuz, Mana,
Shad Ghalay and Pas Zairat. These contingents have
sealed all routes and are searching all transport.
The most prominent personality of the Shawal,
Maulana Salahuddin, told Asia Times Online by telephone
that he is trying use his influence to negotiate a truce
between the armed forces and local tribals, but the
tribals reject any army presence in their areas and have
given an ultimatum to the commanders to retreat or face
the music.
After a military operation in March,
negotiations with President General Pervez Musharraf's
government yielded no foreign militants, although 4,000
paramilitary tribal fighters supposedly searched
Waziristan for the 500 men said to have taken sanctuary
there. Under United States pressure to get results, the
army bombed the hideouts of these suspected militants on
Friday. They also ordered the capture of Nek Mohammed
and his four closest colleagues, dead or alive. Nek
Mohammed, a Pakistani, is a key figure in the tribal
insurgency and is believed to have close contacts with
al-Qaeda and foreign fighters in the area, supplying
them with hideouts and rations and recruits.
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Lieutenant-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, commander V Corps
(Karachi). 
