Interpol cites Bin Laden's deputy

Interpol, the international police organisation, today officially asked its member nations to search for the Egyptian surgeon believed to be Osama Bin Laden's top deputy.

Ayman al-Zawahri is suspected of involvement in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and is believed to be operating in Afghanistan, as is bin Laden.

Egyptian police made the request to Interpol, the Lyon-based police organisation said. Interpol circulates about 800 so-called "red notices," for wanted fugitives, each year.

The Interpol notice asked 179 member countries of Interpol to try to track down Al-Zawahri, a 50-year-old Cairo surgeon who leads the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a partner in bin Laden's International Front.

His decision to join the International Front led to a split within Islamic Jihad because other Egyptian militants feared taking on the United States.

Interpol said he is believed to have masterminded several terrorist operations in Egypt.