Pakistani army misses Zawahiri capture

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Pakistani army, in its recent anti-Taliban campaign in the northwest tribal area, missed nabbing al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, a senior official said.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Rahman Malik, adviser to the prime minister on internal affairs, said the security forces had unearthed the location of Zawahiri in Mohmand Agency but missed catching him, CNN reported.

There is a $25 million reward for Zawahiri, the second in command after Osama Bin Laden in the terror group.

"We had indication Zawahiri and his wife were in the Mohmand Agency," Malik said. "We did raids and traces there ... certainly we had traced him in one place, but we missed him."

Malik said Zawahiri moves in Mohmand Agency and also in Afghanistan's Kunar and Paktika regions, the report said.

Malik said the al-Qaida group has up to 60 other leaders based in Pakistan but went on to say, "You hardly see them."

Western officials have said Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions have become a haven for Islamic militants.

A BBC report said Mohmand and Bajaur, where Pakistani troops have been waging a campaign against militants, are believed to be the hiding places of Bin Laden, Zawahiri, and other al-Qaida operatives.