Karachi, Sept. 19: A Libyan hunted by Pakistan because of his senior role in the al Qaida terrorist network has taken charge of its sleeper cells in Britain and the US, Pakistani intelligence officials believe.

Abu Faraj al Libbi, said to have taken over as third in command of al Qaida when his mentor, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was captured last year, has sent coded messages to ?several? Islamic militants in Britain over the past 10 months, according to Pakistani officials.

Security officers who have interrogated recently captured militants say that Abu Faraj, who is now believed to be al Qaida?s top operational chief, masterminded and financed assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf, the country?s military ruler, last December.

They have now revealed that Abu Faraj, who was once Osama bin Laden?s personal assistant, is also in frequent contact with al Qaida members and supporters abroad, particularly in Britain and America. They have identified two people ? both of whom are in British custody ? as recipients of coded messages from Abu Faraj.

The existence of a trove of secret al Qaida e-mail messages first emerged in July, when Pakistan announced the arrest of Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, a communications specialist who visited Britain often and gathered information on possible terror targets around the world. Eight British suspects were arrested and remain in custody, charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Pakistani officials now say that some of the encrypted messages sent to the Britons originated from Abu Faraj.

?The coded messages deciphered recently have revealed to us that he was not only co-ordinating pre-election terrorist acts in the US, but had sent several messages to several militants in the UK in the last eight to 10 months...to share notes with them about future terror attacks in the UK,? said an investigator who has seen the communications.

At least two British-based militants are believed to have travelled to Pakistan from London and met Abu Faraj to finalise details of attacks. Last month Pakistan put him at the top of a list of the country?s ?most wanted terrorists? and offered a reward of Rs 20 million (?196,000) for his capture.

He is now thought to be operating from the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan, one of the handful of al Qaida operatives who may know the whereabouts of bin Laden.