Woman held for possible al Qaeda ties

WASHINGTON -- A former Boston woman sought by the FBI for questioning about possible ties to the al Qaeda terror network is in custody in Pakistan, U.S. law enforcement officials said Tuesday.\nTwo officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Aafia Siddiqui, 31, was detained by Pakistani authorities in the past few days and was being interrogated at an undisclosed location. She originally is from Pakistan.\nIn March, the FBI put out a global alert for Siddiqui, who has a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote a doctoral thesis on neurological sciences at Brandeis University in 2001. She also visited the Maryland suburbs near Washington in December or January, officials say.\nIt was the first time an FBI bulletin sought a woman since the war against terror began, officials have said.\nAuthorities have not charged that Siddiqui is a member of al Qaeda but believe she could be a "fixer," someone with knowledge of the United States who can support and help get things done for other operatives. She is not charged with any crime in the United States.\nThe FBI is also seeking to question Siddiqui's estranged husband, Dr. Mohammed Khan. His whereabouts are unknown.\nAlerts for Siddiqui and Khan followed the FBI's announcement last month of a worldwide search for Adnan El Shukrijumah, a 27-year-old Saudi native nicknamed "Jafar the Pilot." He lived for a number of years in South Florida and authorities believe he is an al Qaeda operative who may have been planning new attacks. His family denies any terrorist ties and he also has not been located.\nDuring Siddiqui's years in Boston, neighbors and acquaintances remember her as a dedicated student who also spent much of her time preaching the Muslim faith. Politics did not seem to interest her, they said.\nSiddiqui is listed on an Internet site maintained by an umbrella group of Muslim student organizations as one author of a guide on how to run a successful association, including how to distribute religious information.\nIn 1999, Siddiqui formed the nonprofit Institute of Islamic Research and Teaching Inc., which had offices in a mosque in Roxbury, Mass. She was the institute's president and her husband its treasurer, records show.