Homeland Security

DATE= 11/21/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= AL-QAIDA CAPTURE (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-296712

BYLINE= ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE= PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: U-S officials are confirming the capture of a top al-Qaida leader, believed to be the group's chief of operations in the Gulf region. V-O-A Pentagon Correspondent Alex Belida reports.

TEXT: The al-Qaida leader is identified as Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, captured earlier this month in an undisclosed country. U-S officials say he is now being held by American authorities at an undisclosed location where he is being interrogated.

The officials describe his detention as a serious blow to al-Qaida operations and a very significant development in the global war on terrorism.

The officials, speaking to V-O-A on condition of anonymity, say Mr. al-Nashiri is suspected of involvement in the bloody 1998 bomb attacks against U-S embassies in East Africa as well as the deadly bomb attack two years ago against the U-S destroyer Cole in Yemen.

The officials describe him as "ruthless" and say Mr. al-Nashiri is considered an expert in terrorist weapons, including explosives. They say he was also involved in training other al-Qaida operatives.

He is the highest-ranking al-Qaida operative captured since the March arrest in Pakistan of Abu Zubaydah, a top aide to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

U-S officials recently disclosed another senior al-Qaida operative had been caught but until now his identity was unknown.

His capture is the latest success in the U-S led effort to disrupt al-Qaida operations. Earlier this month, several suspected al-Qaida operatives were killed in Yemen when the vehicle they were riding in was hit by a missile fired from an unmanned U-S Predator spy plane. The aircraft was reportedly operated by the Central Intelligence Agency and launched from a base in Djibouti. (Signed)

NEB/BEL/MAR