ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested three men and seized 100 kilograms of explosives in a raid in the capital Islamabad, officers said Tuesday, following two deadly Taliban attacks on military targets.
The swoop on Monday at a house in Tarnol, in the city's southwest, also recovered fuses, detonators, wires and other bomb-making material, police said.
News of the raid came as jets and helicopters bombarded suspected militant positions in Pakistan's lawless tribal districts in retaliation for two major Taliban attacks targeting the army.
“They had several bags filled with explosives. They had wires and a complete system which can detonate the explosive,” a police official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
“All three men belong to the tribal areas.”
Rab Nawaz, the officer investigating the case, confirmed the arrests and recovery of the explosives and told AFP that a case has been registered against the three accused.
“They had rented a house and had everything they needed to detonate explosives,” Nawaz said.
Police arrests 48 suspects during raids in Rawalpindi
Police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested 48 suspects during a search operation conducted in Pirwadhai and others areas of the garrison city, DawnNews reported.
The search operation was carried out under the supervision of Superintendent of Police (SP) Rawal Town during which 48 suspects were taken into custody.
Moreover, an unregistered car was also seized during the raids.
According to sources, the raids were conducted in Pirwadhai, Fauji Colony, Mehar Colony, Ziaul Haq Colony and other areas of Rawalpindi.
Rawalpindi is the military headquarters of the Pakistan Armed Forces. On October 10, 2009, eleven soldiers had lost their lives in an attack when 10 heavily armed militants, wearing suicide vests, stormed the General Head Quarters (GHQ), holding off commandos for hours.
Troops ultimately fought off the attackers and freed 39 hostages, but 23 people were killed, including 11 troops, three hostages and nine attackers.
On Jan 20, more than a dozen people were killed and 18 others wounded in a suicide-bomb attack near General Head Quarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
The attack came a day after the Bannu check post attack, which was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.
The banned militant organisation Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for both the attacks.