Osama Bin Laden Deputy may be surrounded
Troops surround Afghan border
Pakistani troops are reported to have killed dozens of people they surrounded in an area along the country's border with Afghanistan.
In a CNN interview, Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf said the ferocity of resistance his forces met led them to believe a 'high-value target' was being shielded.
However, the facts are still unclear and the Bush administration is remaining cautious.
The activity is in a semi-autonomous tribal region along the Pakistan/Afghan border - the area considered the most likely hiding spot for Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda leadership.
Around ten square miles have been surrounded and Pakistani troops have pounded a number of compounds with artillery. They gave militants a deadline to surrender, which passed at 7am this morning.
Al-Zawahri is believed to be a key architect of al-Qaeda's ideology.
The US National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, said his capture would be a significant boost to the war on terrorism but also cautioned that getting one man would not destroy the terrorist network.
The US has offered $25 million for information leading to the capture of al-Zawahiri, and yesterday the lawmakers voted to double the reward for information leading them to Osama bin Laden to $50 million.
