The son of a retired Pakistani brigadier is among three Al Qaeda-linked “terrorists” arrested for masterminding attempted rocket attacks near the president’s house and parliament, police said on Tuesday. The suspects were seized on Monday, based on information provided by eight alleged militants detained earlier this month after the three foiled attacks, Islamabad’s Inspector General (IG) of Police Iftikhar Ahmed Chaudhry said. | "They are educated. One of them is son of a retired army brigadier, one of them is an engineer who was technically aware of making circuits. They are hardcore terrorists.” |
Police said they picked up the men - named only as Ali Ahmed, Muneer and Khalil - in the industrial sector of the capital Islamabad when officers intercepted a car. They were still being interrogated. The trio were the driving force behind the plot and the eight others arrested previously were only facilitators, Senior Superintendent of Police Sikandar Hayat said. “This is the core group. We can call them masterminds,” he said.
The men “appear to be Al Qaeda-linked militants,” Hayat added, echoing earlier comments by President Gen Pervez Musharraf saying that the plot had links to fugitive Osama Bin Laden’s terror network. “They were inspired by Al Qaeda. They had Al Qaeda literature in their car,” Hayat said without elaborating. He did not specify which was the brigadier’s son but said Ali likely had a masters degree in engineering.
One rocket exploded late on October 4 in the Ayub public park in Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining Islamabad, near military ruler MusharrafÂ’s army residence. Another three were found nearby. Two more rockets were found close to the official presidency building and parliament in Islamabad on October 5, followed by another two near the Inter Services Intelligence headquarters in the capital two days later. Militants had planned to launch all of them simultaneously but only the one in Rawalpindi worked, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao has said. Security forces traced the suspects by decoding mobile phones attached to shells. Police seized more of the Russian-made rockets plus grenades, explosives and hundreds of sniper rifle rounds at the same time as they detained the initial eight suspects.