Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistani forces believe they have cornered and perhaps wounded accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a major battle near the Afghan border, an area where many believe the world's most wanted terrorist has been hiding, three senior Pakistani officials said Thursday.
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said a "high value" target was believed trapped in South Waziristan, a semi-autonamous tribal belt that has resisted outside intervention for centuries.
Hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers pounded several fortress-like mud-brick compounds with artillery and fired on them from helicopter gunships, as entrenched suspects fought back hard. An intelligence official said "dozens" were killed Thursday.
At least 41 people — 15 soldiers and 26 suspected militants — were killed earlier this week in fighting in the area.
The officials said intelligence indicated the forces had surrounded the Egyptian-born Mr. al-Zawahri in an operation that began Tuesday, the first major break in the world's most intense manhunt in more than a year.
The region has long been considered the most likely hiding place for the top two al-Qaeda leaders — but there was no indication Mr. bin Laden was with Mr. al-Zawahri. However, the two have travelled together in the past and Mr. bin Laden and Mr. al-Zawahri appeared jointly in video tapes released shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The United States has offered a $25-million (U.S.) reward for information leading to Mr. al-Zawahri's capture. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives doubled the reward for Mr. bin Laden's capture to $50-million.
"We have been receiving intelligence and information from our agents who are working in the tribal areas that Mr. al-Zawahri could be among the people hiding there," a Pakistani military official said.
"All of our efforts are to capture him."
An intelligence official and a senior politician in Mr. Musharraf's government both confirmed the account. All spoke on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence official said information was also coming from some of the 18 suspects captured during Thursday's operation. Some said during interrogation Mr. al-Zawahri was wounded in the raid, the official said. Officials said helicopter gunships and artillery would continue attacking at dawn Friday.
Mr. Musharraf told CNN he'd spoken with the commander of Pakistani troops in the region. He said the commander reported "fierce resistance" from a group of fighters entrenched in fortress-like buildings and there were indications a senior figure was surrounded.
"He's reasonably sure there's a high-value target there," Mr. Musharraf said.
"They are not coming out, in spite of the fact that we pounded them with artillery."
The news came the same day as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced in the Pakistani capital Islamabad that Washington was bestowing the status of "major non-NATO ally" on Pakistan and praised the country for its help in the war on terror.
U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN she could not confirm the reports.
But, she said, if Mr. al-Zawahri were captured, "it would be of course a major step forward in the war on terrorism, because he's obviously an extremely important figure. But I think we have to be careful not to assume that getting one al-Qaeda leader is going to break up the organization."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Pakistanis "believe there is a high-value al-Qaeda target possibly involved" in the operation.
He said he had no information on who the target was.
Al-Zawahari, a 52-year-old former Egyptian surgeon, is believed to be the brains behind the terror network, with Mr. bin Laden serving more as spiritual leader and financial backer.
Often seen by Mr. bin Laden's side in videos released to Arab television networks, the doctor was also thought to serve as al-Qaeda leader's personal physician.
Mr. al-Zawahri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad was believed behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat during a Cairo military parade in 1981. He merged the organization with al-Qaeda in 1998.
Mr. al-Zawahri has continued to spread his message since the Sept. 11 attacks in audiotapes, the latest broadcast Feb. 24, in which he taunted U.S. President George W. Bush and threatened more attacks on the United States. Another tape criticized France's decision to ban Islamic headscarves in schools.
Under pressure from Washington, Pakistan has arrested more than 500 al-Qaeda suspects and has turned most over to the United States. The last major capture was that of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former al-Qaeda No. 3, who was nabbed March 1, 2003, in a house near Islamabad and quickly delivered to U.S. custody. He is being held at an undisclosed location.
The Pakistani military has been pursuing 100 tribal leaders whom authorities want to roll into their efforts to hunt al-Qaeda in the Waziristan frontier. So far, about two-thirds have said they would provide information and turn over any Islamic militants in their territories, U.S. defence officials said.
The others face destruction of their homes by the Pakistani military, officials said.
There have been several anti-terror sweeps in the tribal regions in recent months but none so bloody as the operation that began Tuesday. Pakistani troops have moved 70,000 troops into the border region, and Mr. Musharraf on Monday promised to rid the tribal areas of foreign terrorists.
U.S. officials said they are watching to see if the Pakistani actions send militants back into Afghanistan, where U.S. troops operate freely. The U.S. military announced the start of a new operation to track down senior al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives Sunday.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed and two others wounded in fighting Thursday in central Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. At least five attackers were killed in the battle.
The military said because of the location, the fighting did not appear to be directly related to the siege against Mr. al-Zawahri.
Afghan officials said they were closely monitoring the Pakistani operation.
"We are hopeful operations being carried out in border regions will yield some desirable results," said Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad.
"If a well known figure is part of these captures ... the world will be a safer place."
Thursday's raid concentrated on three South Waziristan towns — Azam Warsak, Shin Warsak and Kaloosha. Early-morning calls from mosques warned residents to leave the area, apparently to give the troops more room to operate.
Mr. Powell, who left Pakistan hours before the news broke, also said he believed there was evidence Mr. bin Laden is hiding in the rugged border area.
"No one has seen him, so how can one be sure?" Mr. Powell told Geo TV.
"But he has certainly given evidence that he is alive and active. But we can't be sure.
"And if he is alive and active, and the evidence suggests that he is, and if he is in the area of the Pakistan-Afghan border, that's a very difficult area to find someone who doesn't want to be found."
