US confirms Osama bin Laden`s son-in-law capture in Jordan

Al Qaeda propagandist Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is expected to be in US federal court in New York on Friday in an initial hearing to face terror charges.

Washington: Osama bin Laden`s spokesman and son-in-law has been captured by the United States, officials said on Thursday, in what a senior congressman called a "very significant victory" in the fight against al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda propagandist Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is expected to be in US federal court in New York on Friday in an initial hearing to face terror charges, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.

The trial will make one of the relatively few prosecutions of senior al Qaeda leaders on US soil.

Representative Peter King, the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, credited the CIA and FBI with catching Abu Ghaith in Jordan within the last week. He said the capture was confirmed to him by US law enforcement officials.

A Jordanian security official confirmed that Abu Ghaith was handed over last week to US law enforcement officials under both nations` extradition treaty. He declined to disclose other details and spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

PTI

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