The operation by the CIA and Thai counter-terrorism authorities that captured top al Qaeda operative Hambali was so secret that few inside the U.S. government knew of it beforehand, officials said on Friday. “It was highly compartmented. Hardly anybody knew about it. It was exceedingly carefully planned and carried out, and even within the U.S. government hardly anyone knew about it,” a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity. Hambali, born Riduan Isamuddin, was hunted throughout Southeast Asia as a suspect in last year’s bombings at a Bali nightclub strip and last week’s hotel bombing in Jakarta before his capture earlier this week in Thailand. The CIA initially brought his presence to the attention of Thai authorities, and the Southeast Asian government put that together with tips from local sources about strangers in Ayutthaya, about 50 miles north of Bangkok. Full Story