Afghan officials: 16 arrested for plotting attacks

Kabul: Top Afghan security officials say that
during the past month, police have arrested 16 people who were
plotting suicide and rocket attacks in the capital, Kabul.

Interior Minister Hanif Atmar told reporters that all but
two of the suspects were detained in Kabul, and six were
Pakistani nationals.

Kabul police chief Abdulrahman Rahman told The Associated
Press that investigators found the suspects admitted to ties
to two groups with links to al-Qaida: Hezb-i-Islami, and the
Haqqani network, an Afghan Taliban group based in Pakistan.

The officials spoke today on the sidelines of a ceremony
honoring officers who have completed a 22-week training
program with European police advisers.

PTI