Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed that a top al-Qaida suspect captured earlier this month met Osama bin Laden in December and has produced information that has helped authorities close in on the terrorist mastermind. The March 1 arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, thought to be the No. 3 figure in the terror network, as well as information from other suspected terrorists has brought authorities “significantly closer to Osama,” an intelligence official said at a rare briefing Monday. “We find we appear to be just hours behind him (bin Laden). One suspect met with Osama in September, and Khalid Shaikh said he met with him in December,” the official said on customary condition of anonymity. “We were months behind, then weeks and now hours behind him.” U.S. forces searching for bin Laden are operating in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province, Muhiddin Khan, a director at the provincial Governor’s House, told The Associated Press. Other operations reportedly were being carried out in Afghanistan’s southern Nimroz and along the rugged mountainous border regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Murky reports have surfaced about more arrests since Mohammed’s capture, including possibly of one of bin Laden’s sons. Full Story
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