Military

DATE=04/01/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=PENTAGON/AL-QAIDA (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-288231

BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE=PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: U-S officials think they have taken into custody a senior al-Qaida terrorist leader named Abu Zubaydah. But V-O-A Correspondent Alex Belida reports from the Pentagon that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will not confirm his capture.

TEXT: Mr. Rumsfeld says Abu Zubaydah is a close associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, possibly the number two man in the terrorist organization.

But other than acknowledging Mr. Zubaydah's importance, the U-S defense secretary will not confirm his capture. He tells reporters it will not help the anti-terror campaign to disclose which individuals are in U-S custody.

///RUMSFELD ACTUALITY///

If you start down that road, it just seems to me it tells other people much more than one would want to tell them.

///END ACTUALITY///

Pentagon sources say U-S officials are reluctant to confirm his capture because it could prompt other al-Qaida operatives to flee their current hiding places.

Mr. Zubaydah is considered a key al-Qaida attack planner and is believed to have information about the location of other al-Qaida leaders, possibly including Osama bin Laden.

U-S officials say a man thought to be Mr. Zubaydah was wounded and detained in Pakistan last week in a raid on a suspected al-Qaida compound, which was carried out by Pakistani authorities with U-S support.

His present whereabouts have not been disclosed. But it is likely he will be sent to the U-S Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to join some 300 al-Qaida and Taleban detainees being held there. (Signed)

NEB/BEL/KPD