Posted on 06/20/2002 4:18:25 PM PDT by knighthawk
Two Arrested in Connection with US Consulate Bombing in Karachi
Authorities in Pakistan have conducted a series of raids on people suspected of attacks against Westerners and of having links to the al-Qaida terrorist organization. There were a number of arrests.
Officials say at least two of the detainees are being questioned in connection with last week's bomb attack on the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed 12 people.
They say they believe the two belong to the outlawed Sunni Islamic militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - which is believed to have expanded its targets to include foreigners because of anger over the U.S.-led war against terrorism.
Last Friday's explosion was the latest in a series of high profile attacks against Westerners in Karachi, following the abduction and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, and another car-bombing that killed 14 people.
Pakistani authorities also have arrested at least six Arabs suspected of having links to al-Qaida.
Meanwhile, the human rights group Amnesty International is accusing Pakistan of using the war against terrorism as an excuse to arbitrarily arrest hundreds of people on suspicion of being al-Qaida or Taleban members.
The report said an unknown number of detainees has been deported to the United States. It added that at least two ethnic Uighers have been handed over to China, where Amnesty believes they are at risk of torture and possibly execution.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
Pakistan arrests 7 terrorism suspects
HoustonChronicle, June 20 2002, AP Those detained included Saudis and Yemenis but some have not been identified by nationality, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity.
He said FBI agents provided technical assistance which led to the arrests. A second official said the Americans monitored and traced satellite telephone calls.
The officials said the Arabs were being interrogated by both U.S. and Pakistan investigators at an undisclosed location. They also said none of the Arabs had been charged and their links to al-Qaida had not been established.
"Nothing can be said for sure at this stage about the involvement of these Arabs in recent acts of terrorism," the official said.
The arrests were part of what appeared to be a broad crackdown against extremists elements in this turbulent city, which has been the scene of three bloody attacks against U.S. and Western interests this year.
Earlier today, police said they had taken seven Pakistani men into custody in connection with the investigation into last week's deadly car bombing of the U.S. Consulate and last month's blast that killed 11 French engineers, officials said today.
None of them have been charged.
The officials said the seven belong to the Sunni Muslim extremist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group. The group had been known for attacks against Shiite Muslims, but authorities suspect it may have expanded its targets to include foreigners because of anger over the U.S.-led war against terrorism.
Police said two of those arrested -- believed to be senior Lashkar-e-Jhangvi figures -- were detained several days ago and the others on Wednesday. A cache of explosives and weapons, including 90 Kalashnikov assault rifles, were confiscated in the second raid.
Officials said the men were being questioned in connection with Friday's blast at the U.S. Consulate which killed 12 Pakistanis and wounded 50 people, as well as the May 8 suicide bombing in front of a luxury hotel that killed 11 French engineers and three other people, including the bomber.
U.S. officials had said they believed the attacks were carried out either by Osama bin Laden's terrorist al-Qaida network or Pakistani extremists, some of whom have close ties to al-Qaida.
Police said they were also trying to determine if the seven men were involved in the January kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi. Pearl disappeared while working on a story about Pakistani militants. Four men are currently on trial in that case and police are seeking seven others.
Violence against foreigners has risen since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf joined the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, abandoning Pakistan's longtime Taliban allies. Besides the two bombings and Pearl's abduction, a suicide attacker in March lobbed grenades into a church in the diplomatic enclave of Islamabad, killing four people, including two Americans -- a U.S. Embassy employee and her teen-age daughter.
An unknown group calling itself al-Qanoon, or The Law, had claimed responsibility for the consulate attack. U.S. officials in Washington have said they believe al-Qaida or Pakistan militant groups are to blame, though they acknowledge they have no direct evidence.
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