“Not Gadahn”

Pakistani security agents have denied that an American al Qaeda promulgator with a $1 million US bounty on his head has been arrested, saying there has been an identity mix-up with another arrested suspect. Yesterday some Pakistani officials said that California-born Adam Gadahn had been arrested on the outskirts of Karachi. “Our initial impression was that the guy was Adam Gadahn but that information now looks incorrect,” an unnamed official told Reuters. The real man under detention is also believed to be an American, going by the name of Abu Yahya, and his nationality is thought to have sparked to confusion. The official declined to confirm the identity of the detainee and said “We don’t know yet how big a catch he is”. The battle against al Qaeda-linked Taliban militants is a tough one in Pakistan, and the country is resisting US pressure to launch military offensives against Afghan Taliban groups based in the Pashtun lands. Despite ruling out a major offensive, Pakistani authorities have successfully arrested several senior Taliban members in recent weeks.