A key suspect being held in Pakistan in connection with the alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights from the UK has given interrogators "vital clues," a Pakistani government minister said today.
Rashid Rauf, a British Muslim of Pakistani origin who was caught in Pakistan on August 9, has been described as a "key person" by Pakistan's government, which says he had contacts with an Afghanistan-based al-Qaida operative. Pakistan has not named the al Qaida operative, although two Pakistani security officials claim he masterminded the plot after getting the nod from al Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al Zawahri. Today, interior minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said Rauf had "wider international links" and was in touch with an Afghanistan-based al Qaida leader. |