Second Australian al Qaeda suspect held

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- A second Australian is being held by the U.S. military in Afghanistan for allegedly training with the al Qaeda terrorist group.

The Australian government said Thursday they had been advised that 46-year-old Sydney man Mamdouh Habib is now in U.S. military custody, after being arrested in Pakistan in early October last year.

Habib, a father of four, is alleged to have undertaken terrorist training with al Qaeda while in Afghanistan.

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Habib, an Australian citizen, also holds Egyptian citizenship, having emigrated to Australia in the early 1980s.

It is believed he was arrested in Pakistan, then moved to Egypt, before being handed over to the U.S. military.

He is reported to be in good health.

Australian officials were denied access to Habib when he was in prison in Egypt, and the government has now requested the U.S. for early access to the prisoner for law enforcement, intelligence and welfare purposes.

A statement released Thursday by Australia's Attorney General, Daryl Williams, said Habib was the subject of an ongoing Australian Federal Police investigation concerning his activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Habib is the second Australian to be arrested as an al Qaeda suspect.

In December last year 26-year-old Australian David Hicks, was captured by Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and handed over to the U.S. military.

Schools

He is currently being held indefinitely without trial in the U.S.'s Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.

At the time of Hicks' capture, Australia's Attorney-General's Department said it was aware of two further Australians, probably in Afghanistan, who were believed to have received training in al Qaeda terrorist camps.

Habib left Sydney to travel to Pakistan in August last year, supposedly to investigate suitable schools for his four children.

He is believed to have been active in Sydney's Muslim community and a vocal supporter of radical causes.

In 1996, he was the subject of an apprehended violence order against him and he was ordered by a Sydney court from having any contact with member or staff of the Defense Housing Authority.