Karachi, July 04: Pakistani authorities raided a house in a remote village in southern Pakistan arresting six Pakistanis, including a woman, suspected of having links to al-Qaida, a police spokesman said today. Authorities made the arrests yesterday in Thatta, 100 kms east of Karachi, after receiving a tip, Thatta police chief Nadir Khoso said in a telephone interview. He gave no indication of what evidence linked the six people to al-Qaida.

"I can only say that six people have been arrested because of their suspected links to al-Qaida," he said.

Pakistan has arrested nearly 500 al-Qaida and Taliban suspects who fled neighboring Afghanistan since the US-led coalition launched its war on terror there in 2001 in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Those arrested include: Waleed Mohammed bin Attash, best known as Tawfiq bin Attash or Tawfiq Attash Khallada, a Yemeni sought in connection with the bombing of the us navy destroyer Cole in Yemen on Oct. 12, 2000.

Exactly one year after the us attacks, Ramzi bin Alshibh, a suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks, was captured on Sept. 11, 2002 in southern Karachi.


In March 2002, Abu Zubaydah, a top bin Laden lieutenant and financier, was caught in the city of Faisalabad.
In March of this year, Pakistan arrested Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a top al-Qaida leader.

Bureau Report