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CIA Pressing Ahead With Interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Aired March 04, 2003 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the war on terror, the CIA is pressing ahead with its interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. But while some agents question the senior al Qaeda strategist, others are tackling what's being called a treasure trove of material found when they captured him on Saturday. Agents are studying information from computers, from disks, cell phones and paper documents. They're looking for leads on possible terrorist attacks in the United States or overseas, including strikes on U.S. forces.
In the meantime, FBI agents are trying to track down suspected al Qaeda operatives in U.S. cities. Those names were also found among the material at Mohammed's hideout in Pakistan.
Mohammed's arrest involved a coordinated effort among Pakistani authorities and CIA officials. The man believed to be the key planner in the 9/11 attacks had narrowly escaped capture before, as we learn in this report from CNN Isalamabad bureau chief Ash-Har Quraishi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): September 11, 2002, Pakistani police thought they were going to capture Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in the southern port city of Karachi. The early morning raid turns into a firefight. Then police enter the apartment complex and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed gets away.
When the shooting stops, security forces had captured another key al Qaeda operative, Ramzi Binalshibh. Investigators follow intelligence leads to Quetta in the southwestern province of Balochistan. In a raid on February 14, authorities capture an al Qaeda operative reported to be an Egyptian. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed slips through the dragnet yet again.
Using information gathered from the operative nabbed in Quetta, authorities track Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to Rawalpindi, just nine miles from Pakistan's capital. He is, authorities soon learn, staying in the home of Ahmed Abdul Qadus, a member of Pakistan's largest religious political party, the Jamaat-Islami. At 3:00 a.m. Saturday, in a jointly planned operation, more than two dozen American and Pakistani security agents surround Qadus's house. Agents enter the home, herding the women and children into a small room.
QUDISA, SISTER OF AHMED QADOOS: They just banged on the doors, broke the locks and they pushed my hubby, my son-in-law and the kids into a room. And they had rifle or Kalashnikov held to their head. And they were told to sit quietly. And my brother, he went out and they took him away.
QURAISHI: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is surprised while still in bed. Knowledgeable law enforcement sources tell CNN he pulls out a Kalashnikov rifle and opens fire, injuring several agents. Finally, overpowering their man, the security forces take Mohammed into custody, along with Qadus and another suspected al Qaeda operative described as a Somali.
SHEIKH RASHID AHMED, PAKISTANI INFORMATION MINISTER: The agencies were looking for him after a long time, but they were, he always escaped and today he was caught early morning. He's been arrested.
QURAISHI (on camera): According to senior U.S. intelligence officials and highly placed Pakistani sources, Mohammed was handed over to U.S. officials within hours of the raid and then transported out of the country. Despite conflicting public statements by the Pakistani administration, CNN sources in Washington and Islamabad insist that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is no longer in Pakistan.
Ash-Har Quraishi, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Mohammed>
Aired March 4, 2003 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the war on terror, the CIA is pressing ahead with its interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. But while some agents question the senior al Qaeda strategist, others are tackling what's being called a treasure trove of material found when they captured him on Saturday. Agents are studying information from computers, from disks, cell phones and paper documents. They're looking for leads on possible terrorist attacks in the United States or overseas, including strikes on U.S. forces.
In the meantime, FBI agents are trying to track down suspected al Qaeda operatives in U.S. cities. Those names were also found among the material at Mohammed's hideout in Pakistan.
Mohammed's arrest involved a coordinated effort among Pakistani authorities and CIA officials. The man believed to be the key planner in the 9/11 attacks had narrowly escaped capture before, as we learn in this report from CNN Isalamabad bureau chief Ash-Har Quraishi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): September 11, 2002, Pakistani police thought they were going to capture Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in the southern port city of Karachi. The early morning raid turns into a firefight. Then police enter the apartment complex and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed gets away.
When the shooting stops, security forces had captured another key al Qaeda operative, Ramzi Binalshibh. Investigators follow intelligence leads to Quetta in the southwestern province of Balochistan. In a raid on February 14, authorities capture an al Qaeda operative reported to be an Egyptian. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed slips through the dragnet yet again.
Using information gathered from the operative nabbed in Quetta, authorities track Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to Rawalpindi, just nine miles from Pakistan's capital. He is, authorities soon learn, staying in the home of Ahmed Abdul Qadus, a member of Pakistan's largest religious political party, the Jamaat-Islami. At 3:00 a.m. Saturday, in a jointly planned operation, more than two dozen American and Pakistani security agents surround Qadus's house. Agents enter the home, herding the women and children into a small room.
QUDISA, SISTER OF AHMED QADOOS: They just banged on the doors, broke the locks and they pushed my hubby, my son-in-law and the kids into a room. And they had rifle or Kalashnikov held to their head. And they were told to sit quietly. And my brother, he went out and they took him away.
QURAISHI: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is surprised while still in bed. Knowledgeable law enforcement sources tell CNN he pulls out a Kalashnikov rifle and opens fire, injuring several agents. Finally, overpowering their man, the security forces take Mohammed into custody, along with Qadus and another suspected al Qaeda operative described as a Somali.
SHEIKH RASHID AHMED, PAKISTANI INFORMATION MINISTER: The agencies were looking for him after a long time, but they were, he always escaped and today he was caught early morning. He's been arrested.
QURAISHI (on camera): According to senior U.S. intelligence officials and highly placed Pakistani sources, Mohammed was handed over to U.S. officials within hours of the raid and then transported out of the country. Despite conflicting public statements by the Pakistani administration, CNN sources in Washington and Islamabad insist that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is no longer in Pakistan.
Ash-Har Quraishi, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Mohammed>
