KARACHI, 8 June 2005 — Pakistani police arrested two members of a banned extremist organization with links to Al-Qaeda yesterday for a suicide attack on a mosque that killed five people in the southern city of Karachi last month.
The pair, arrested in an overnight raid in Karachi, told investigators up to 20 suicide bombers were still at large in the city, Pakistani’s commercial hub, the police said.
Fayyaz Khan, a deputy superintendent of police, said the men were members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an underground militant group with ties with Al-Qaeda, and had been arrested with explosives and firearms.
Suspects Mufti Altaf and Bilal Farooqi were arrested in the raid on a house in Karachi’s eastern Gulistan-e-Johar district, a senior investigator told AFP on condition of anonymity. Mufti Altaf was supposed to carry out the suicide bombing on the Madinatul Ilm mosque on May 30 but was replaced at the last moment.
Police recovered over 10 kilograms of explosives, two hand grenades, extremist literature and other material.
