Updated on
Summary The suspect has been identified as Naamen Meziche.
Pakistan has arrested a French man accused of being a prominent al-Qaida militant, a reminder of the countrys vital role in the war on terror at a time of deteriorating relations with the U.S., security forces said Wednesday.Naamen Meziche was captured in a raid near the border with Iran, officials said, without specifying when this had happened. Western media reports have described Meziche as an al-Qaida operative with links to European jihadi groups believed to have been living until now in either Pakistan or Iran.The officials did not give their names in keeping with the policy of the Pakistani security forces.The officials said Meziche was a close associate of Younis al-Mauritani, who Pakistani security forces arrested in September last year in a joint operation with the CIA. That arrest also took place in Balochistan, which borders Iran. US officials said Mauritani was believed to have been plotting attacks in Europe. It is unclear where al-Mauritani is now being held.Pakistani intelligence agents are currently questioning the French national.The arrest highlights the Pakistani security forces key role in the anti-al-Qaida campaign, even as the U.S. and Pakistan are going through one of the rockiest stages in their relationship.
