Pakistanis Claim to Arrest American Al Qaeda Member

CNN reports on conflicting accounts emerging from Pakistan, where senior government sources claim to have captured wanted American-born Al-Qaeda spokesman, Adam "Azzam Al-Amriki" Gadahn. U.S. government sources are cautioning that there is not any conclusive proof yet.

News of the arrest comes on the heels of a new Al Qaeda propaganda feature, in which Gadahn calls for other Muslim American soldiers to follow in the path of Fort Hood murderer, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Gadahn exhorted worldwide Al Qaeda operatives to follow in his footsteps, proclaiming:

"The Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan is a pioneer, a trailblazer and a role model who has opened a door, lit a path and shown the way forward for every Muslim who finds himself among the unbelievers and yearns to discharge his duty to Allah and play a part in the defense of Islam and Muslims."

Gadahn also called for a rise in global terrorism, by demanding:

"This is a war which knows no international borders and no single battleground, and that's why I am calling on every honest and vigilant Muslim in the countries of the Zionist-Crusader alliance in general and America, Britain and Israel in particular to prepare to play his due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam."

In 2006, Gadahn was indicted on charges of treason and providing material support to Al Qaeda. As a senior Al Qaeda activist, the U.S. government offered a $1 million reward on information leading to his capture.

Gadahn is a powerful example of the interconnectedness of jihadi terrorist organizations and American homegrown radicalism. He converted to Islam at the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, but was banned from the mosque two years later after hitting its chairman, Haitham Bundjaki. He began working for the Orange County-based and Al Qaeda-linked "Charity Without Borders" in 1997 and was increasingly involved in radical Islam. After moving to Pakistan in 1998, he went on to be one of Al Qaeda's leading English spokesmen.

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