Aafia Siddiqui, who earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Brandeis, was recently reported by the Arizona-based online news blog site, PHXNews.com, to be possibly in the custody of the FBI for her alleged association with al Qaeda. Although the FBI's Web site states that her whereabouts are unknown, PHXNews.com reports that Siddiqui "was spotted at the airport and then taken into custody.".

But no other news source has confirmed Siddiqui's whereabouts since the PHXNews.com report on Jan. 19.

The FBI lists her as missing and wanted for questioning.

Rex Tomb of the Office of Public Affairs at the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. said, "if the poster is up there [on the Web site], then I feel very confident in telling you that we are not detaining her. There would be no point to [keeping the posting on the Web site]."

However, Tomb indicated that he was not positive, since the New York Field Office had been dealing with Siddiqui's case. But the FBI's website stated that the Boston office was handling the case.

The FBI's New York Office declined to comment, stating that information on an ongoing case my not be shared. Ernie Porter, of the FBI's Office of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. said, "usually they don't talk too much about an ongoing case unless they want information or if the person is a fugitive."

A "seeking information alert" has been issued for Siddiqui, the only woman on the FBI's site, rather than the more severe "crime alert" warning.

The FBI suspects Siddiqui has aided al Qaeda operatives in several ways, including logistical help, research on prospective bombing sites, and money transfers.

According to the Washington Times, Siddiqui is suspected to have done reconnaissance work in preparation for bombing gas stations in the Baltimore area.

The article indicated that Siddiqui had located targets that were the most vulnerable and appropriate for bombings, and reported this information back to al Qaeda's director of global operations, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured on March 1, 2003). The plan never developed and the bombing never occurred.

Dawn.com, an English-language Pakistani newspaper, claims that Siddiqui may be "a 'fixer' who moves money to provide logistical support for terror activities" and that she may have aided Adnan El Shukrijumah, a Saudi man who is suspected to have planned terrorist attacks on the United States.

Despite Siddiqui's alleged association with the al Qaeda, her mother, Ismat Siddiqui, asserts that it is Aafia Siddiqui's estranged husband, Mohammed Khan, an anesthesiologist, who has caused Siddiqui to appear guilty according to PHXNews.com. She states that he used her e-mail account to buy night goggles and books about making explosives.