Pakistan announces arrest of senior al Qaeda militant

By the CNN Wire Staff

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The arrest occurred in the Pakistani city of Karachi
The man is a Yemeni national who has been working on the Afghan-Pakistani border
This comes more than two weeks after Osama bin Laden was killed

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(CNN) -- A senior al Qaeda operative has been arrested by security agencies in Karachi, the Pakistani military said in a statement Tuesday.

The military identified the man as Muhammad Ali Qasim, also known as Abu Sohaib al-Makki, a Yemeni national who has been working directly under al Qaeda leaders along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

A U.S. official described al-Makki as "a mid level al Qaeda operative, not a household name." He is believed to have been working with core al Qaeda leaders who operate along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the official said.

The arrest comes more than two weeks after al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a military operation in Pakistan.

CNN's Pam Benson contributed to this report.