Al-qaeda Deputy May Be Cornered

[the gentleman]

- Pakistani forces believe they have cornered and perhaps wounded Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a major battle near the Afghan border.

A huge military offensive is underway in an area many believe the world's most wanted terrorist has been hiding, three senior Pakistani officials said.

Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf said a "high value" target was believed trapped in South Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal belt that has resisted outside intervention for centuries.

Hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers have pounded several fortress-like mud-brick compounds with artillery and fired on them from helicopter gunships, as entrenched suspects fought back hard.

Al-Zawahri - a 52-year-old former Egyptian surgeon - is believed to be the brains behind the al-Qaeda terror network, with bin Laden serving more as spiritual leader and financial backer.

Often seen with bin Laden in videos released to Arab television networks, the doctor was also thought to serve as al-Qaeda leader's personal physician.

An intelligence official said "dozens" were killed in the latest fighting.

And at least 41 people - 15 soldiers and 26 suspected militants - were killed earlier this week in fighting in the area.

The officials said intelligence indicated the forces had surrounded the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri in an operation that began on Tuesday.

The region has long been considered the most likely hiding place for the top two al-Qaeda leaders - but there was no indication bin Laden was with al-Zawahri.

However, the two have travelled together in the past, and bin Laden and al-Zawahri appeared jointly in video tapes released shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The US has offered a $US25 million ($A33.3 million) reward for information leading to al-Zawahri's capture.

The US House of Representatives has now doubled the reward for bin Laden's capture to $US50 million ($A66.6 million).

"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," a Pakistani military official said.

"All of our efforts are to capture him."

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

The intelligence official said information was also coming from some of the 18 suspects captured during the latest operation.

Some said during interrogation that al-Zawahri was wounded in the raid, the official said.

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

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

"They are not coming out in spite of the fact that we pounded them with artillery."

The news came the same day as US Secretary of State Colin Powell announced in Islamabad that Washington was bestowing the status of major non-NATO ally on Pakistan, and praised the country for its help in the war on terrorism.

US National security adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN she could not confirm the reports that al-Zawahri was holed up in the area.

She said if he was captured it would be a major boost in the war against terrorism, but cautioned:

"... we have to be careful not to assume that getting one al-Qaeda leader is going to break up the organisation."

Al-Zawahri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad was believed behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat during a Cairo military parade in 1981. He merged the organisation with al-Qaeda in 1998.

Al-Zawahri has continued to spread his message since the September 11 attacks in audiotapes, the latest broadcast on February 24, in which he taunted US President George W Bush and threatened more attacks on the US.

Another tape criticised France's decision to ban Islamic headscarves in schools.

Under pressure from Washington, Pakistan has arrested more than 500 al-Qaeda suspects and has turned most over to the United States.

The last major capture was that of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former al-Qaeda No 3, nabbed on March 1, 2003 in a house near the capital and quickly delivered to US custody.

He is being held at an undisclosed location.

[mouse]

The US has offered a $US25 million ($A33.3 million) reward for information leading to al-Zawahri's capture.

The US House of Representatives has now doubled the reward for bin Laden's capture to $US50 million ($A66.6 million).

OK! I hereby declare that Al Zawahri is in fact in the area in question and stand ready to receive my monetary compensation for this information.

However, something tells me that it is much too soon before the coming election to bring Osama bin Laden in.

[Boon Mee]

We'll get 'em all before too long - you can run but...