New York, Sept 7(ANI): The United States is likely to seek access to senior Al Qaeda leader, Younis Al Mauritani, who is presently in Pakistani custody, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said.
Mauritani, mainly responsible for planning and conduct of Al Qaeda's international operations, was nabbed along with two other senior Al Qaeda operatives, Abdul Ghaffar Al Shami (Bachar Chama) and Messara Al Shami (Mujahid Amino) from suburbs of Quetta.
"He was planning to target US economic interests including gas and oil pipelines, power generating dams and strike ships and oil tankers through explosive laden speed boats in international waters," the Pakistan military said in a statement.
"This operation was planned and conducted with technical assistance of United States intelligence agencies with whom (Pakistan's) Inter-Services Intelligence agency has a strong, historic intelligence relationship," it added.
Meanwhile, Panetta cheered US-Pak cooperation in capturing the senior Al Qaeda operative.
"I assume that we will work with the Pakistanis to try to obtain access and try to gather intelligence from that individual," The News quoted Panetta, as saying, when asked whether the US would seek access to Mauritani. (ANI)
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