‘Let Iraq war begin, US troops will be targeted on their bases’

At the time of his arrest on Saturday, a senior Al Qaeda leader defiantly told his captors that ‘‘only the American infidels will ...

At the time of his arrest on Saturday, a senior Al Qaeda leader defiantly told his captors that ‘‘only the American infidels will celebrate this’’ and went on to predict a spate of terrorist attacks on US forces massing in the Persian Gulf for a likely invasion of Iraq, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Thursday.

Khalid Sheik Mohammed, accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade towers and the Pentagon, was described as unrepentant and almost cocky during his initial interrogation on Saturday by agents from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

According to a Pakistani official Mohammed lectured his captors on their proper role as Muslims, telling them, ‘‘Playing as American surrogate won’t help you or your country.’’ He also said that ‘‘there are dozens of people like me who will give their lives but won’t let the Americans live in peace anywhere in the world,’’ the official added.

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A relaxed Mohammed spent several hours talking with Pakistani interrogators at a military facility in Rawalpindi before he was handed over to US officials and flown out of the country on Saturday night, officials said.

Several times during the interrogation Mohammed said his arrest would not limit the potential of his comrades to strike US interests. ‘‘Let the Iraq war begin — US forces will be targeted inside their bases in the gulf,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘I don’t have any specific information, but my sixth sense is telling me that you will get the news from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.’’

When asked whether bin Laden was alive, he replied, ‘‘Of course he’s alive.’’ However, officials said that at no point did Mohammed mention meeting bin Laden after September 11, 2001, and denied that news reports of evidence seized in the raid on Saturday — including documents, a computer and computer disks — indicated recent communication between the two. ‘‘There were no documents recovered from Mohammed that may prove his meetings with Osama,’’ one of the officials said. ‘‘Do you expect the world’s top-most terrorists to document their meetings?’’

Besides dealing a blow to Al Qaeda, Mohammed’s arrest may also have severed a key link between the organization and Pakistani militant groups, including those responsible for the murder last year of a Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl.

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Based on information that developed during the hunt for Mohammed it now appears that he was a principal liaison between Al Qaeda and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, a Pakistani Islamic militant group blamed for several sectarian killings, as well for attacks on Christians and Westerners, security officials said. (LATWP)