Posted on 12/21/2002 7:58:57 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Police in Pakistan say one of the five people killed in an explosion in Karachi on Thursday was the country's most-wanted militant, Asif Ramzi.
A police investigator in Karachi said Asif Ramzi's mother was taken to the city morgue for the second time in two days, and she has now confirmed that the body of one of the people killed on Thursday is that of her son.
Asif Ramzi was not only involved in a series of killings of minority Shia Muslims, but was also wanted for a number of murderous attacks on foreign nationals, including, it is thought, American journalist Daniel Pearl.
In another development, police on Saturday arrested four more suspected militants from Karachi, in a raid which is part of a drive to round up suspected militants from the country.
'Taleban links'
A police investigator in Karachi said the police would still like to have a DNA tests done for a positive identification.
Asif Ramzi's body parts were found among those of four other people from the rubble of a warehouse in Karachi.
Police believe they were killed in a powerful blast while preparing some explosive devices.
Asif Ramzi was head of a banned militant group, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which had been involved in the killing of Shia Muslims.
Police say in the last couple of years the group had developed close links with the Taleban and most of its members were trained inside Afghanistan.
Police believe Asif Ramzi was also involved in the kidnapping and murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl.
Growing success
He was also wanted in connection with several bomb attacks against the local Christians and foreign nationals.
Pakistani security forces have stepped up the drive against suspected militants and have arrested more than 20 people from different parts of the country.
On Saturday, police arrested four members of another banned militant group from Karachi, as they were planning to target American nationals.
The recent successes in anti-militant operations have largely been due to the close cooperation of the FBI with Pakistani authorities.
At times, FBI officials themselves have taken part in the raids.
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