Two Al Qaeda Suspects Nabbed
W A S H I N G T O N, July 15 -- Following a nearly hour-long chase off the coast of Pakistan this weekend, coalition naval forces made their first arrest at sea of al Qaeda suspects.
Two suspected terrorists were taken Saturday night at about 9:30 p.m. local time from a speedboat in the Gulf of Oman, U.S. and Canadian military officials said. Canadian special forces sailors boarded the vessel, detained the two and brought them back to the Canadian battleship Algonquin.
The suspects were searched, examined by doctors, fed and placed under armed guard overnight before being turned over to the crew of the USS John F. Kennedy, Canadian officers said. The JFK later took the men ashore to an undisclosed location for further questioning, officials said.
Suspects’ Behavior Increased Suspicions
Speaking from aboard the Algonquin, Canadian Commodore Eric Lerhe said half a dozen coalition ships, a patrol plane and a helicopter helped snare the suspects.
Lerhe said his team had been was tracking three speedboats, each carrying about 20 people. They stopped the boats, checked passenger names and found two that matched wanted suspects, Lerhe said. At that point, he said, the suspicious passengers began to cause trouble.
"The two people [suspects] in the boat were visibly trying to direct the operator of the boat to evade us," Lerhe said. "They were remonstrating against the boarding party and yelling things at them, where all the others in the boat were well-behaved. So that further increased our suspicions."
At that point, all three boats sped off, leading coalition forces on a 45-minute chase, 50 miles out to sea.
"We combed the sea, corralled them and reidentified the suspects," Lerhe said.
The United States and its coalition partners have queried more than 15,000 vessels since last fall, boarding 180. But until now, they have not grabbed anyone with suspected ties to al Qaeda.
U.S. and Canadian officials say they know little for certain — not identity or even nationality — about the two men they have detained.
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