Islamabad:
The passport of a member of a Germany-based terrorist cell that helped plot the 9/11 attacks in the US has been found by Pakistani troops during a search operation in South Waziristan tribal region, where the Army is conducting an operation against the Taliban.
The passport of Said Bahaji, a German national and member of the Hamburg cell that provided money and logistics to the 9/11 attackers, showed he had entered Karachi a week before hijacked airplanes were used to target the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in 2001.
Footage aired on Dawn News channel showed Bahaji's passport was part of a pile of documents found by soldiers during a search operation in Waziristan.
The passport clearly featured Bahaji's photo.
Bahaji, the son of a Moroccan father and a German mother, is believed to have been close to Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers of the first airplane used to target the World Trade Centre.
He is currently at large and figures on the CIA's list of most wanted terrorists.
The Pakistan Army recently launched a major ground offensive in South Waziristan to flush out militants led by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud.