Captured al-Qaida agent is not Adam Gadahn

Pakistani intelligence agents say they have captured an American al-Qaida operative, but they have reversed their initial assertion that he is Adam Gadahn, who is wanted in the United States on a treason charge.

Pakistani officials said Monday the man they arrested recently in the southern port city of Karachi appears to be another American with the alias Abu Yahya Majadin al-Adam.

They said the similarity of the name with those sometimes used by Adam Gadahn initially caused some confusion.

Gadahn, 31, is a California-born spokesman for al-Qaida. He has often appeared in al-Qaida videos calling for attacks against the United States and other Western countries.

The United States has offered up to $1 million in reward money for information leading to his arrest.

Reports of the capture of one-time goat-herder Adam Gadahn may have been greatly exaggerated

An "important Taliban militant" was arrested today in Pakistan. But that is where the confusion started.

Earlier it was reported by Pakistani media that intelligence agents had arrested Adam Gadahn, the American-born spokesman for al Qaeda, in an operation in the southern city of Karachi.

It was further reported by the Associated Press and Reuters that Gadahn had been arrested, sourcing security officials.

CBS News was told by sources in the Pakistan government that it was Gadahn, even after U.S. officials refused to confirm it was the California native for whom a $1 million reward has been posted.

Now, CBS News' Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad writes that earlier reports the detained individual was Gadahn proved false. According to a Pakistan security official who spoke with CBS News on condition of anonymity, the arrested individual is in fact "a Taliban militant leader who is known as Abu Yahya."

The official said evidence compiled from an interrogation of the suspect and information exchanged with U.S. officials verified the man's identify.

Swift upward mobility in Islam: one-time U.S. goat herder rallies muslims to holy war against U.S.

KARACHI, Pakistan - Adam Yahiye Gadahn, a U.S.-born spokesman for al-Qaida, has been captured in Pakistan, government sources said Sunday.Earlier from longwarjournal.org:

Gadahn was arrested in recent days, two officers who took part in the operation told The Associated Press. A senior government official also confirmed the arrest. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

An intelligence source confirmed the report to NBC News, adding that Gadahn was detained in Sohrab Goth, a suburb of Karachi, and was later moved to the capital Islamabad.


Earlier:

Reports from Pakistan indicate that the American-born al Qaeda spokesman who has been charged with treason in the US was captured today in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

Adam Gadahn and an associate are reported to have been captured during a raid by Pakistani special forces on a home at the Super Highway in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal said they believed Gadahn has been detained but would not confirm the report.

Gadahn's capture was first reported in the Pakistani press; he was not directly named, however. Geo News identified the captive al Qaeda leader as Commander Abu Yahya Azam while Dawn identified him as Abu Yahya Mujahdeen al Adam. Adam Gahdan's nom de guerre is Abu Azzam al Amriki.

"The Pakistani press often incorrectly reports the names of foreign fighters arrested in the country, especially Arabic noms de guerre," Arif Rafiq, the editor of The Pakistan Policy Blog, told The Long War Journal.


Read more:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/03/american_al_qaeda_sp.php#ixzz0hWJYlX2G

CAIRO (AP) - Al-Qaida's American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood.

In a 25-minute video posted on militant Web sites, Adam Gadahn described Maj. Nidal Hasan as a pioneer who should serve as a role model for other Muslims, especially those serving Western militaries.

"Brother Nidal is the ideal role-model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate regimes," he said.

Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Amriki, was dressed in white robes and wearing a white turban as he called for attacks on what he described as "high-value targets."

Gadahn grew up on a goat farm in Riverside County, California, and converted to Islam at a mosque in nearby Orange County.