Thursday, May 5 2005 07:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US President George W Bush yesterday (May 4, 2005) hailed the capture in Pakistan of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the number three in the al-Qaeda terror network, as "a critical victory in the war on terror".

Bush called him "a major facilitator and a chief planner" for Osama bin Laden. Al-Libbi's arrest, said Bush, "Removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom."

"I applaud the Pakistani Government for their strong cooperation in the war on terror," the President said adding, the Pakistanis had acted on "solid intelligence" to bring him to justice. He vowed that those fighting terrorism would "stay on the offensive until al-Qaeda is defeated".

Earlier, Bush's press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters at the White House, "We have brought to justice in one way or another some three quarters of al-Qaeda's key leaders and associates."

"Al-Libbi's capture is a great success in global war on terrorism," McClellan said. "He is one of al-Qaeda's most senior operational planners and one of the terrorist organisation's top leaders."

Al-Libbi, wanted in connection with two attempts on the life of President Pervez Musharraf, was arrested in Pakistan's Waziristan region in the North-West Frontier Province.

A close associate of bin Laden, al-Libbi is said to have become third in the al-Qaeda hierarchy after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was caught in 2003 and transferred into US custody.