Thursday, Jul 24, 2003
Iran holding Al-Qaeda leaders
TEHERAN: Iran has said that it was holding top members of the Al-Qaeda terror group. ``A large number of small and big time elements of Al-Qaeda are in our custody,'' the Intelligence Minister, Ali Yunesi, said on Wednesday. He did not name any of the detainees. Mr. Yunesi declined to comment on media reports that Iran is holding Al-Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, the group's spokesman, Suleiman Abu Ghaith or its security chief, Saif al-Adil. Al-Qaeda, which is led by Osama bin Laden, is blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and suicide bombings in May that targeted foreigners' housing compounds in Saudi Arabia. — AP
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