Update 3/7/10 6:15 PM EST:
CNN is quoting American officials as saying they don’t believe that Pakistan actually caught Gadahn.
According to Pakistani officials, American al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Yahiye Gadahn (born Adam Pearlman) was captured days ago near Karachi and is currently in the custody of the Pakistani government.
Gadahn, born in 1978, grew up in Riverside County, California, and converted to Islam at a mosque in Orange County. His father Philip Gadahn is a musician. He initially issued statements for al-Qaeda under the name Azzam the American (Azzam al-Ameriki) starting in 2004.
A long-standing target of the US government for his role in al-Qaeda, Gadahn was indicted on federal charges of treason in 2006. The indictment charged him with giving al-Qaeda “aid and comfort.” He was also reported killed in early 2008 by a US drone strike, though this was later revealed not to be the case.
Interestingly enough, news of Gadahn’s capture comes at the same time that a new Gadahn video has emerged, in which he praises Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan and urges other Muslims to follow his example.