Top al-Qaeda man 'held in Sudan'

Liby is among the US's 22 "most-wanted terrorists"

A senior al-Qaeda member on President George W Bush's list of 22 most-wanted terrorists has reportedly been captured alive and is being held in Sudan.

Senior administration officials told the Washington Post that the US was negotiating with the Sudanese Government over the fate of Abu Anas al-Liby, who is thought to be a senior associate of Osama Bin Laden.

A "terrorist manual" was found in Liby's flat

US officials have a warrant for the 37 year-old Libyan's arrest, the newspaper reported.

But, the report said, they are discussing whether he could be transferred to Egypt, where he is wanted for alleged involvement in a plan to assassinate President Hosni Mubarak, if he is not to be handed over to the US.

It said a Sudanese presidential adviser had said the government had no knowledge of the reported arrest and negotiations.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Liby was arrested last month along with nine other suspected militants, and is being held in a high-security prison in Khartoum.

If his arrest is confirmed, he will be the most senior al-Qaeda member in captivity, and will be a valued prize for US interrogators seeking information on the organisation blamed for the 11 September attacks.

Terror manual

Mr Liby is accused of conspiracy to kill US nationals and to destroy US property in the 1998 embassy bombings in the Kenyan and Tanzanian capitals.

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Described as between 5 ft 10 in and 6 ft 2 in (1.77 and 1.88 metres) with a scar on the left side of his face, he lived until recently in Manchester in the UK, where he had been granted political asylum.

Computer disks containing a document described as an "al-Qaeda training manual" by the US Department of Justice are said to have been found at his flat in Manchester two years ago.

The document allegedly outlined the group's military aim as the "overthrow of the godless regimes and their replacement with an Islamic regime".

Kidnapping and assassinating "enemy personnel" and "blasting and destroying" embassies and economic centres were also among the objectives listed.

Mr Liby, who has a $25m (£17.5m) reward on his head, is thought to have joined al-Qaeda in 1992 in Sudan, and quickly become a key technical expert in the organisation's operations.

UN sanctions imposed on Sudan for failing to hand over suspects in the plot to kill Mr Mubarak were lifted last September after the country was said to be co-operating with the US in response to the 11 September attacks.