al-Qaeda Big Fish Netted

Pakistani and U.S. officials have confirmed the capture of high-ranking al-Qaeda leader Abu Farraj al-Libbi, CNN is reporting. al-Libbi was taken into custody along with ten other al-Qaeda suspects on Tuesday in Mardan, a city in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.

President Bush called the arrests "a critical victory in the war on terror", adding that al-Libbi "was a top general for bin Laden. He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al- Qaeda network. His arrest removes a dangerous enemy who was a direct threat for America." al-Libbi, who was born in Libya, is believed to be the mastermind between two recent attempts on the life of Pakistani President/General Pervez Musharaff - he has a $10 million bounty on his head, says CNN. He is also believed to be in charge of planning operations against the United States.

This is, without a doubt, good news, and with any luck at all puts us at least a step or two closer to catching bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, his right-hand man.

ABC, MSNBC, and the New York Times have more on the capture.

[Update: I have learned since positing originally that al-Libbi was actually captured on Monday, but the information was withheld until today. -- 6:03 p.m.]