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| India-Pakistan |
| Terrorists trained in Afghanistan, says IG |
| 2002-08-16 |
| Police claimed on Thursday to have arrested 12 alleged terrorists involved in bombing of Christians in Murree, Taxila and Islamabad. Punjab IG Malik Asif Hayat told newsmen that police had got the lead from the belongings of a terrorist killed during a terrorist attack on the Taxila chapel on Aug 9. The police then conducted raids and arrested 12 members of a group that had vowed to kill government officials and foreigners, especially the Westerners. Six rocket-launchers, 490 detonates and 20 kg of explosive have been recovered from their possession. Five members of the group were still at large and the police would soon hunt them down. The IG said the group was "Afghanistan trained" and most of its members belonged to a banned militant organization. Which one? And where were they trained in Afghanistan? At the Harkat camps? During interrogation, it was revealed that the terrorists visited Afghanistan to wage a war against the US lead forces. On their return to Pakistan they made plans to attack certain government officials for their support to the US and Western nationals, he said. That's 'cause they got the stuffing beat out of them, and revenge is apparently the central tenet of Islam... Malik Asif said the group used to make a team of three members to carry out the attacks. Before each strike, the terrorists rented houses near their targets and hid weapons at another place. The IG said that this group was financed by some one from Karachi. So far, they had been paid about Rs600,000 to buy weapons and to meet other expenses, he said. He said that the police teams had been constituted to track down the financiers. He said the terrorists had bought the weapons from tribal areas. Now that's really interesting. Wonder if the financier will turn out to be a Saudi trader, who has, of course, no connection with the Soddy government? The IG said that the group had no connection with Shiekh Omar, Naeem Bukhari and Akram Lahori."It's a new group reacting to the US-led attacks on Afghanistan. Many government officials and Christian's worship places were on their hit list." The IG said that besides these 12 terrorists who came back to Pakistan after the war in Afghanistan, the government had arrested 29 other terrorists. "Some 60 were still on the run." He said that the terrorists had attacked Taxila chapel because it was hugely financed by the foreigners. That's the same foreigners who financed the eyeball hospital. "Mr IG! Mr IG! What's the difference between the new group and the old groups?" "Ummm... It has a different name." "But the same members?" "No, no. Of course not. They're not members of the old groups anymore..." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |