The CIA has arrested a senior al-Qaida figure who U.S. officials believe is responsible for the al-Qaida bombing of a Bali night club that killed 202 people in October 2002, White House officials announced Thursday.

The White House identifies the man as Riduan Bin Isomuddin -- also known as Hambali -- al-Qaida's chief representative and operational planner in Southeast Asia.

A White House spokesman called the arrest an "important victory in the war on terrorism" and a "significant blow" to al-Qaida. The announcement came aboard Air Force One, as President George W. Bush flew from Texas to California.

Video

Bush Comments On Arrest Of Hambali

Bush addressed the developments in his previously scheduled remarks to troops at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, calling Bin Isomuddin "a known killer who was a close associate of Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed."

"In the past few days, we have captured a senior al-Qaida terrorist called Hambali," Bush said. "He is no longer a problem for those of us who love free and neither are two-thirds of (senior al-Qaida officials) who have been captured or have been killed."

Bush called Bin Isomuddin "one of the world's most lethal terrorists" who is responsible for the Bali bombing and a series of deadly church bombings in the Philippines.

Bin Isomuddin and his group, Jemaah Islamiya, is also being investigated for the more recent attack on an American-owned hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, according to broadcast reports. The capture was made in cooperation with authorities from an unidentified Southeast Asian country, according to broadcast reports.

The capture is said to be the most significant since U.S. officials arrested Mohammed earlier this year.