| Pakistani security forces arrested four Al-Qaeda-linked Turkish nationals over the weekend, in the ongoing crackdown on militants in the country, a security official said. The men's identities were not disclosed but security officials said two of them were "diehard" operatives of Osama bin Laden's network and fought with the Taliban against US-led coalition forces in neighbouring Afghanistan. "They were injured while fighting against the US forces in Afghanistan and later managed to slip into the Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The pair escaped from South Waziristan tribal territory after a major military operation earlier this year and moved to the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. They were later joined by two more Turkish nationals in Lahore who had flown into Pakistan sometime in June, the official said. "It is not clear as yet whether they had any specific mission to plan a terrorist attack in Pakistan or abroad. Interrogation is continuing and we hope to find out what they were up to." |