Islamabad, Nov: Pakistani police on Friday said
they had arrested a militant suspected to be linked to several
suicide attacks including on the office of the UN food agency
in the federal capital in which five persons were killed.
Ahmed alias Tahir was arrested in the federal capital
and eight kilograms of explosives were seized from him,
Inspector General of Police Kaleem Imam told a news
conference.
Imam said Ahmed had links to radical Lal Masjid and
had also fought in the troubled Swat valley. A suicide jacket
reportedly found in his possession was shown to the media.
Ahmed was allegedly linked to at least four recent
suicide attacks, including one on the office of the World Food
Programme on October 5 that killed five persons, including an
Iraqi national and two Pakistani women.
Police obtained vital clues about elements involved
in recent attacks on senior army officers in Islamabad by
questioning Ahmed, Imam said.
A brigadier and his driver were killed and another
brigadier was injured in these attacks.
Ahmed, a youth in his twenties sporting a long beard
and closely cropped hair, told reporters he was recruited from
the tribal areas.
He claimed the militants used money paid as ransom
for kidnapped persons to fund their activities.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 20, 2009, 21:49