Al Qaeda leader arrested by US and Afghan forces

Yesterday a provincial police chief confirmed reports that a senior al-Qaida member was among the four men captured last week near Khost.

The Pakistani daily, The News, reported that the catch included Abu Nasir al-Qahtani who escaped from Bagram in an embarrassing incident last July. Neither coalition nor Afghan forces confirmed if al Qahtani was among them. "What I can tell you is that he is an important al-Qaida member," said Mohammad Ayub, the provincial police chief.