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Pakistani Troops May be Closing on Qaeda's No. 2

(New York Times) David Rohde - Pakistani military and intelligence officials said Thursday they believed they had surrounded al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, near the border with Afghanistan, as stiff fighting between Pakistani forces and militants continued. Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, said a "high-value target" had "very likely" been surrounded in South Waziristan, and that the fierce resistance led him to believe it was a senior Qaeda leader. A clash on Tuesday left 16 soldiers and as many as 24 militants dead. On Thursday, fighting erupted in four areas, involving as many as 500 to 600 militants, military officials said. On Thursday, the House of Representatives increased the reward for information leading to bin Laden's capture to $50 million from $25 million. The reward for information leading to Zawahiri's capture stands at $25 million. (New York Times)
2004-03-19 00:00:00
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