Pakistani security forces are holding three Africans suspected of being militants after a shootout last week, an official of the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. Security forces raided a suspected militant hideout in the city of Gujarat, around 175 km (110 miles) southeast of the capital Islamabad, on Friday evening, detaining 13 people. "Two of them are South Africans and the third one is a Tanzanian," said Abdul Raouf Chaudhry, an interior ministry spokesman. | "Say, ya'll ain't from around these here parts, are you?" |
But he refused to disclose their identity, saying it could hamper investigations. "They are being interrogated. We do not want to disclose anything prematurely," he said. Police said three women and five children, including an infant, were among the 13 detainees. Another interior ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspects had been trying to flee Pakistan along with their families, using fake travelling papers. "They had lived in Afghanistan and fought alongside the Taliban," he said, adding the group could be linked to al Qaeda. |