The American-born spokesman for al-Qaida, Adam Gadahn, 31, has been arrested by Pakistani intelligence officers in Karachi, according to Pakistani officials. The word of his arrest, reported to have occurred in the past few days, occurred just after a video was released showing him urging U.S. Muslims to attack their own country. U.S. defense and intelligence officials have not verified the report from Pakistan.
Al-Qaida’s American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood.
A U.S. court charged Adam Gadahn with treason in 2006. He grew up in Riverside County, California, and converted to Islam at a mosque in nearby Orange County. He moved to Pakistan in 1998, according to the FBI, and is said to have attended an al-Qaida training camp six years later, serving as a translator and consultant. He has been wanted by the FBI since 2004.
Gadahn has aliases including Yahya Majadin Adams and Azzam al-Amriki.