US applauds capture of Al-Qaeda plotter

WASHINGTON: The White House hailed Monday on the capture of a senior Al-Qaeda leader Younis al-Mauritani believed to have been plotting attacks on the United States and other countries.

"We applaud the actions of ISI that led to the capture of a senior Al-Qaeda operative who was involved in planning attacks against the interests of the United States and many other countries," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Earnest called it "an example of the longstanding partnership between the US and Pakistan in fighting terrorism, which has taken many terrorists off the battlefield over the past decade.

The Pakistani army said Younis al-Mauritani was picked up in the suburbs of the southwestern city of Quetta along with two other high-ranking operatives after US and ISI joined forces.

"In an intelligence-driven operation by Inter-Services Intelligence in coordination with Frontier Corps Baluchistan, a senior Al-Qaeda leader, Younis al-Mauritani, mainly responsible for planning and conduct of international operations, was nabbed," a ISPR statement said.

It named the two other senior operatives as Abdul Ghaffar al-Shami and Messara al-Shami.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011