US Nets 'Al-Qaeda Financier'
September 12, 2002
US forces in Afghanistan say they are holding a man believed to be a key financier for al-Qaeda and the Taleban.
Troops detained eight other suspects in a series of raids in south-east Paktika Province near the border with Pakistan.
He is a significant target. It's great to get the bad guys - US commander Martin Schweitzer
A huge haul of weapons and explosives has also been seized, the US military said.
The announcement came hours after services were held around the world to commemorate the 3,000 people killed in last year's 11 September attacks on the US, blamed on al-Qaeda.
Since then the US has been leading a military operation to hunt down its leader, Osama Bin Laden, who was being sheltered by Afghanistan's former Taleban rulers.
The Taleban collapsed at the end of last year.
Bin Laden's whereabouts, or even whether he is alive, remain a mystery.
Recruiting centre
The US military has yet to name the captured suspected financier.
He was apparently caught by surprise moments after being overheard saying in a radio transmission that he was "surrounded by Americans".
Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Schweitzer, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Battalion, said: "He is a significant target.
"It's great to get the bad guys."
His capture came in a raid on a bazaar in the town of Bermel, which also netted another "high-value target", the US military says.
The men are thought to have been running an al-Qaeda and Taleban recruiting centre, and are now in US custody in Kandahar.
Weapons haul
About 1,000 US soldiers were involved in operation Champion Strike, which began on Saturday.
Correspondents say it was the largest US offensive in Afghanistan for several months.
It aimed to mop up al-Qaeda and Taleban remnants deep in the mountains in the south-east, one of the most active fronts in the "war on terror".
As well as passports and al-Qaeda and Taleban documents seized in the raids, troops found 150 Kalashnikov assault rifles, explosive booby traps, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns and several cases of hand grenades.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/2253299.stm