POLICE ARRESTS SUSPECTS AFTER DEADLY SUICIDE BOMBING IN PAKISTAN
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Pakistani security agencies have arrested several suspects in connection with a deadly suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad, this week, sources said on Thursday, as the attack aggravated tensions with Afghanistan.
An alleged handler and a facilitator of the suspected Taliban bomber who killed 12 people in front of a court compound were among the suspects arrested in raids.
Two intelligence officials told dpa on Tuesday.
The arrests were made in the city of Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, and in the north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a hotspot of Taliban militancy.
“It seems there was a whole network behind the bombing.
“We are very close to making more headway and arrests,” one official said, seeking anonymity.
The rare bombing in the capital came amid increased tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan after a surge in cross-border attacks, which Islamabad blamed on Islamist militants, allegedly operating from Afghanistan.
Islamabad had accused Kabul of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban, which was separate from its Afghan counterpart in organisation but follows the same hardline interpretation of Islam.
Afghanistan denied the allegations.
The tensions simmered after forces from both countries were engaged in deadly border clashes last month, following a series of cross-border attacks by the Pakistani Taliban.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday that the suicide bomber was an Afghan national, reflecting a growing trend in recent terrorist attacks.
Pakistan could again launch airstrikes against Afghanistan to target the alleged hideouts of the militants behind the attack, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif told broadcaster Geo News.
(dpa/NAN)
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