al-zawahri: almost al-caught

from al-jazeerah:


Senior Pakistani officials say troops believe they have surrounded al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri in an operation near the Afghan border.

The officials, who spoke to news agencies on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that intelligence indicated al-Zawahri has been cornered in an operation that began on Tuesday in South Waziristan involving hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers.

"We have been receiving intelligence and information from our agents who are working in the tribal areas that al-Zawahri could be among the people hiding there," said a military official.

An intelligence official and senior politician in President General Pervez Musharraf's government both confirmed the account.

And in an interview with CNN, Musharraf said he had spoken with the commander of Pakistani troops in the region. He said the commander reported "fierce resistance" from a group of fighters entrenched in fortress-like buildings, and that there were indications that a senior figure was surrounded.

"He's reasonably sure there's a high-value target there," Musharraf said.

Military operation

Hundreds of Pakistani troops have moved into three South Waziristan towns -Azam Warsak, Shin Warsak and Kaloosha- firing artillery and using helicopter gunships against entrenched positions.

At least 41 people, including 15 soldiers and 26 suspected fighters, were killed in fighting in the area on Tuesday. Army spokesman General Shaukat Sultan said there had been an unknown number of casualties in continued action on Thursday.

The military said Thursday that most of those killed were foreigners, but it didn't give their nationalities and acknowledged that only two of the bodies had been recovered.
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this would be huge...zawahri is the banker, the fund raiser and the number 2 man to osama (who is reportedly, again, on the run). all good things.