Posted on 06/27/2002 12:08:53 AM PDT by grimalkin
KARACHI, Pakistan, Jun 27, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Pakistani police and FBI agents arrested eight people, including three Palestinians and two Sudanese, as part of the investigation into the deadly bombings at the U.S. Consulate and a hotel in southern Pakistan, police said Thursday.
The detainees were the latest foreigners apprehended in connection with the attacks, which officials suspect were the work of Islamic militants possibly aided by al-Qaida.
In the first raid Wednesday, police and the FBI late in the afternoon rushed a group of men who had gathered in the car park at Karachi's airport, police said on condition of anonymity.
Police detained two Sudanese nationals, one Palestinian and two Pakistanis and seized seven satellite telephones, the police source said. One of the group was on a call on a satellite phone during the raid.
It was not immediately known if the group had just arrived at the airport, were planning to leave, or were using the open space of the car park for a clear phone signal.
Several hours later, police raided a house in the All Fallah district about one kilometer (1/2 mile) from the airport and arrested two more Palestinians and one Pakistani, police said. Three more satellite phones, two mobile phones, two laptop computers and numerous computer discs were seized, the police source said.
The suspects were taken to an undisclosed place for questioning.
The June 14 blast outside the consulate killed at least 12 Pakistanis and injured 50. In the May 8 suicide bombing outside the Sheraton Hotel, 11 French engineers and three other people died, including the bomber.
Pakistani police, with the help of the FBI, are investigating whether the attacks were linked, and if there is a connection to the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and the March 17 grenade attack on a church which killed four people, including two Americans.
All of the attacks occurred in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, which officials fear has become a hub of al-Qaida and Islamic militant activity.
The raids took place after al-Qaida fugitives killed 10 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border. Two al-Qaida members were killed and a 15-year-old boy was arrested, officials said. However, up to 45 other fugitives escaped.
It was the bloodiest clash so far on Pakistani soil in the ongoining war on terrorism.
Seven Arabs and seven Pakistani's had already been rounded up in connection to the consulate bombing. Authorities said they have also questioned an Iranian and an Afghan Sikh about the attacks. No charges have been filed.
In the eastern city of Lahore, police have detained at least 52 suspected Islamic militants in the past week in raids officials say are connected to the Karachi investigation.
As the raids continued, Pakistani officials said last week police had identified the "gang" they believed were responsible for the consulate attack and that details would be revealed soon.
Pakistani officials have said the some of the suspects belong to two banned Muslim extremist groups - Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba.
Pakistan has been facing a backlash from religious extremists since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf abandoned his Taliban allies and threw his support behind the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
The foundation of the religious extremist movement is the network of 8,000 Islamic religious schools, or madrassas, across the country - some of which teach a militant brand of Islam similar to that of al-Qaida and the Taliban.
Most suspects rounded up in the crackdown have been detained during raids on religious schools and mosques.
I'm sure the word "questioning", is being used loosely.
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