Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46217)	5/20/2004 4:04:41 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Four foreign al-Qaeda suspects held in Peshawar By Javed Aziz Khan PESHAWAR: Four foreigners were arrested for suspected links with al-Qaeda network in Sultan Colony, Dalazak Road, here early Wednesday. Besides intelligence agencies, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and local police took part in the raid that continued for one hour. Three of the arrested people Abdullah, Abdul Aziz and Abdul Basit, were identified as Uzbek while the fourth, Muhammad Amin, was Afghan, sources told The News. It was learnt that the mother of Abdul Basit was Afghan national. There were unconfirmed reports that two Arabs were also arrested. The CID and local police officials refused to give details of the operation. The detainees were shifted to Islamabad on Wednesday evening, where Joint Investigation Team are interrogating them. According to locals, the arrested foreigners have been living in the area for the last two and a half months. The authorities also recovered some documents and a pickup van from the house. The pickup, according to sources, was loaded with food packs. Two people were arrested from an Internet cafe in the same locality some days back. It was learnt that the detained people had some links with an alleged key al-Qaeda member Abu Suleman who escaped from a house in Hayatabad on August 14 last year. A Libyan national Abdur Rahman was killed and his Pakistani spouse was injured in that operation. Agencies add: Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed confirmed the raid and arrests, but he would not disclose identity or nationality of the suspects. "I can only confirm that we have arrested four people in a raid in Peshawar," he told The Associated Press in Islamabad. He would not say whether the suspects were planning terrorist attacks. "It is premature to say any thing about it," he said. "Our security agencies are interrogating them, and everything will be clear soon." An AP reporter saw dozens of heavily armed commandos, some carrying rocket propelled grenade launchers, taking part in the raid. Two armoured personnel carriers were parked nearby. Authorities seized detonators, a computer with a program on circuit-making for explosives, Pakistani immigration stamps, nine mobile phones and a large quantity of tinned food, suggesting the suspects had been holed up in the house, an intelligence official said at the scene. There was no firing. The raid follows a major military operation in March against suspected al-Qaeda militants in the lawless tribal region of South Waziristan, which lies in the North West Frontier Province. "There’s pressure on these people in Wana, so they have shifted to Peshawar," said an intelligence official. Wana is the capital of South Waziristan. He claimed the suspects were planning to assassinate "high profile people," but gave no evidence to support his claim. The two-story house that was raided is located in a congested residential neighbourhood of Peshawar. Security forces surrounded and blocked off the area before breaking down the door of the house. About 30 minutes later, four bearded suspects were led out, blindfolded and handcuffed. They appeared to be aged in their 20s or 30s. They were driven off in two separate pickup trucks with high security. An intelligence official said the men had been living in the area for up to four months and had links with foreign militants. "They did not open the door, so we had to break it down, but otherwise they offered no resistance," one of the intelligence officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.