Pakistan has backed down on its claim that it had surrounded the mastermind behind Al Qaeda.
The military claimed yesterday that the ferocity of exchanges with militants on the Afghan border suggested a senior Al Qaeda member was being defended.
Today it maintained that a high-level target was being defended but now believes the person to be Uzbek or Chechen.
Pakistan yesterday indicated the capture of Osama Bin Laden's deputy Dr Ayman al-Zawahri could be imminent as their military pounded Al Qaeda positions near Shin Warsak. While Bin Laden is the figurehead for Al Qaeda, Dr al-Zawahri is considered it chief strategist.
The pair were thought to have travelled together until recently and to still remain in close proximity to each other. The claim about Dr al-Zawahri - and Egyptian eye surgeon - led to speculation that Osama Bin Laden could soon be captured.
But today, Pakistani forces claimed to have arrested 100 militants after nearly a week of fighting and Lieutenant-General Safder Hussain conceded the target is "most probably a Chechen or Uzbek because all the intercepts we have been receiving have been in the Chechen or Uzbek language".
Agencies