Pakistan arrests al-Qaeda leader: military sources

Islamabad, June 20 (Xinhua-ANI): Pakistani security forces have arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader in a raid near Pakistan's border with Iran, military sources said on Wednesday.

Naamen Maziche, who is a French national was arrested in an operation near the border, the sources said. They did not say when the al-Qaeda operative was arrested.

Sources said the arrested man was a close associate of Younis al Mauritan.

Younis al Mauritan had been appointed by Osama bin Laden as commander of operations in Africa, the sources said.

Al Mauritan and three of his associates were arrested by Pakistani authorities in the southwestern city of Quetta last year.

After al Mauritan's arrest, Naamen moved to Iran, the Pakistani military sources said.

After his arrest, Younis al Mauritan provided interrogators with information that Naamen had moved to Iran along with some of his associates en-route to Africa.

Sources said Pakistani security forces had been looking for Naamen and he was arrested after a successful operation. They also said he is being interrogated about why he was travelling to Pakistan. (Xinhua-ANI)