GreenFalcon
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Pakistani police have arrested a former air force pilot who allegedly helped finance al-Qaida's newly formed South Asian affiliate, officials said Wednesday.
Counter-terrorism official Naveed Khawaja announced the arrest in Karachi. He didn't say when the man, identified as Syed Sheaba Ahmad, was detained in the southern port city. Police initially announced a name that sounded very different during a press conference, before releasing a copy of the man's ID with the correct spelling.
Khawaja described Ahmad as a businessman with two chemical companies in Karachi and neighboring Iran. He said the suspect made large donations to the Afghan Taliban and another extremist group before supporting al-Qaida's South Asian affiliate.
Police are investigating the suspect's possible links to the Islamic State group, which has recently made some inroads in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "We have seized his computers, which have Daesh messages," Khawaja said, using an Arabic acronym for the IS group.
Ahmad served as a Pakistani air force pilot until 1998, said another counter-terrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Al-Qaida's senior leadership is widely believed to be based in the rugged tribal regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where a number of senior operatives have been killed in recent years by U.S. drone strikes and Pakistani military operations.
Khawaja said Ahmad used to deliver sermons in an upscale mosque in Karachi, and said he had provided financial support to militants who killed 50 members of Pakistan's Ismaili Shiite minority in May.
Pakistan Arrests Former Air Force Pilot Linked to Al-Qaida - ABC News
Counter-terrorism official Naveed Khawaja announced the arrest in Karachi. He didn't say when the man, identified as Syed Sheaba Ahmad, was detained in the southern port city. Police initially announced a name that sounded very different during a press conference, before releasing a copy of the man's ID with the correct spelling.
Khawaja described Ahmad as a businessman with two chemical companies in Karachi and neighboring Iran. He said the suspect made large donations to the Afghan Taliban and another extremist group before supporting al-Qaida's South Asian affiliate.
Police are investigating the suspect's possible links to the Islamic State group, which has recently made some inroads in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "We have seized his computers, which have Daesh messages," Khawaja said, using an Arabic acronym for the IS group.
Ahmad served as a Pakistani air force pilot until 1998, said another counter-terrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Al-Qaida's senior leadership is widely believed to be based in the rugged tribal regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where a number of senior operatives have been killed in recent years by U.S. drone strikes and Pakistani military operations.
Khawaja said Ahmad used to deliver sermons in an upscale mosque in Karachi, and said he had provided financial support to militants who killed 50 members of Pakistan's Ismaili Shiite minority in May.
Pakistan Arrests Former Air Force Pilot Linked to Al-Qaida - ABC News
