ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Pakistani intelligence source said that the mastermind behind last week's airline bomb plot was a third-tier al-Qaida member.
Dawn reported Aug. 16 that the intelligence operative, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained the al-Qaida member's rank as somewhat equivalent to Abu Farraj Al-Libbi.
The source said: "Al-Qaida's No. 3 was the mastermind behind the plot to blow up transatlantic flights. It is not Osama bin Laden and it's not Aiman Al Zawahiri, but someone close to the rank of Abu Faraj Al-Libbi. It is an Afghanistan-based al-Qaida connection. It is the top hierarchy."
The source added that al-Qaida's link to the London airline bombing plot was established, and that the arrest of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan helped to prevent the attempted attack.
"Without arresting Rashid Rauf, it would not have been possible to foil the plot," the source said.
According to the source, the airline plot in was in the planning, and not the execution, stage.
