Washington: Enthused by the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed - an al-Qaida kingpin and suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks - the US has said the latest development could lead to more information about the operations of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

"Obviously we are hoping that this (the arrest) will lead to substantial additional information on al-Qaida, on al-Qaida's plans and al-Qaida's operations. It is just too soon to say beyond that," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters.

Terming the arrest as a "very serious development and a blow to al-Qaida", Fleischer, however said Shaikh, a Kuwait-born naturalised Pakistani citizen who was on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s most-wanted list, would be interrogated only according to international Laws and accords.

Asked what kind of pressure does US President George W Bush think should be brought to bear on Khalid Sheik Mohammed during the interrogation process, Fleischer said, "The standard for any type of interrogation of somebody in American custody is to be humane and to follow all international Laws and accords dealing with this type of subject."

"That is precisely what has been happening and exactly what will happen," he added.

Khalid Shaikh, 37, for whose arrest the US had announced a $ 25 million reward, was captured along with two others on March 1 in Rawalpindi.

He is the third most important al-Qaida operative after its chief Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.

PTI