Explosives seized, two ‘terrorists’ arrested

PESHAWAR, April 2: Police claimed to have arrested two terrorists and recovered a huge quantity of explosive devices from them in the limits of Chamkani police station here on Saturday. Police intercepted a truck on a tip-off at the under-construction section of Motorway and recovered various kinds of explosive items from it, SSP Ijaz Ahmed Khan told a press conference. The explosives included 2250 safety fuses, 375 kilograms explosive material, 10,000 detonators and 1,250 prima cards, he added. The arrested persons were identified as Daud and Khurshid, both resents of Khyber Agency. During initial interrogation they revealed that they were only carriers and the main supplier was Bilal Ihsan, a resident of Rawalpindi, the SSP said. He said that the main accused was also present in Peshawar but he was yet to be arrested. The explosives were meant for sabotage acts, he added. The official said that main targets of the terrorists seemed to be educational institutions. The accused were involved in the blasts at different schools at Warsak Road and in suburban areas of Peshawar, he added. He said that the explosives were so powerful that its explosion could cause damage within radios of two to three kilometres. The accused, he said, were a part of the terrorist group, involved in many heinous crimes. "We have handed over the explosives to security forces as police have no arrangement to maintain its temperature," Mr Khan said and added that efforts were being made to arrest the main accused. He hoped that the arrested persons would reveal the names of key terrorists involved in subversive activities, taken place in the recent past. He said that Frontier Road was used by militants for entering Peshawar. Police had started round the clock movement in the area to check all suspected people and vehicles, he added. Another police source said that the two arrested persons belonged to Khyber Agency-based militant group Lashkar-i-Islam. They had been shifted to Peshawar some time ago to facilitate militants.