 Pakistani police arrested four Sunni Muslim militants suspected of planning suicide attacks on Shi'ite processions during the Islamic month of Muharram that starts later this week, police said on Tuesday. Police found around 17 kg of explosives and other material used for bomb making during an overnight raid on a hideout in a poor neighbourhood in the volatile southern port city of Karachi, they said.
| And happy holidays to you, too... |
One of the militants, Mohammed Asghar, belonged to the outlawed Sunni Muslim group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Gul Hameed Soomo, an additional inspector general of police, told Reuters.
| Wow. That's never happened before. Has it? |
The other three -- Mohsin Khan, Saeed Omar and Mohammed Zahid -- belonged to the Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Almi group, he said.
| Not that there's a whit of difference between the two... |
The two groups have been involved in several high-profile attacks since Pakistan joined the U.S.-led war on terror after al Qaeda's strikes against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. "The four arrested men are part of a terror cell which wanted to carry out suicide assaults on Shi'ite Muslims during Muharram," Soomo said. Police were still hunting the leader of the gang and two of his followers, Soomo said. |