Al-Qa'ida still a threat despite loss of key men

The capture of Ramzi Binalshibh was last night hailed as a coup for the US and a serious strike at the heart of the al-Qa'ida leadership. Experts say Mr Binalshibh is the second-most important al-Qa'ida figure to have been seized since the attacks of 11 September, of which he was allegedly a key plotter and in which he intended to take part.

A year after the attacks on New York and Washington, the terror organisation has been reorganising and plotting further atrocities. US authorities hope that through interrogation, Mr Binalshibh will provide the most up-to-date information available about those plots and the al-Qa'ida operatives involved.

He is certainly well-placed to do so. A former Hamburg roommate of Mohammed Atta, ringleader of the 11 September hijackers, Mr Binsalshibh was allegedly involved in the plotting not only of the attacks in New York and Washington, but those on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 and on an synagogue in Tunisia in April in which 19 people, including 15 German tourists, were killed.

Mr Binalshibh, 30, a Yemeni citizen, is considered the most important al-Qa'ida member in custody after operations chief, Abu Zubeida.

"He is a very big fish to catch," Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counter-terrorism official, told the Washington Post. "He certainly was the co-ordinator along with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed of the 11 September operation itself, and he might know some of the people who may still be in the United States, if we can get him to talk."

The Arabic TV channel Al-Jazeera last week broadcast an interview recorded in Pakistan with Mr Banalshibh and Mr Mohammed in which both men acknowledged playing a key role in the planning of the hijackings and selecting targets. Mr Binalshibh had hoped to be one of the hijackers, but could not obtain a US visa.

A key problem for the US is that despite the military operation in Afghanistan and the massive hunt for al-Qa'ida leaders, the vast majority – possibly including Osama bin Laden – remain at large. Mr Binalshibh is the 13th or 14th al-Qa'ida leader captured or killed since 11 September. In addition to Mr Zubeida, Mr bin Laden's military commander, Mohammed Atef, killed in November by an air strike, and a senior operational aide, Abu Zubair al-Haili, aka "The Bear", who is in US custody, are the most senior.

Counter-terrorism officials say the most wanted al-Qa'ida members still at large are Mr bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, financial chief Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif and Mr Mohammed, the key operational planner.

Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, told Congress in summer: "There [are] six, eight, 10, people probably who could take over al-Qa'ida. They know where bank accounts are, they know the names of people trained, the cells around world. The task is not a manhunt for [Mr bin Laden. It] is to stop, find terrorists wherever they are and deal with countries that provide safe heavens." Some experts believe that al-Qa'ida may actually be stronger than it was 12 months ago, while its money has been spirited out of banks and converted into gold and diamonds.

A recent report by Jane's Defence Group said: "The ousting of the Taliban has certainly ended the training of al-Qa'ida's foot-soldiers in Afghanistan ... [but] what has not been stopped is its ability to raise funds or operate its international network of sleeper cells." As the operations against al-Qa'ida continue, Kuwaiti-born Mr Mohammed, 37, who has a $25m (£16m) reward on his head, is likely to emerge as a key target.

Officials say that Mr Mohammed received a telephone call from Mohammed Atta, the hijackers' ringleader, on 10 September. Intelligence officials who monitored and then translated that conversation believe that using coded language, Mr Mohammed gave Mr Atta the final approval to launch the strikes.

"He gets more interesting every day," one senior US intelligence source said last week, saying that if he had to chose between capturing Osama bin Laden and Mr Mohammed, he might be tempted to opt for the latter.