QUETTA:
Frontier Corps foiled a terror attempt in Quetta by arresting three suspects, seizing three suicide jackets, and arms and ammunitions near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border close to Chaman.
During a news conference at FC Headquarters on Thursday, Deputy Inspector General Frontier Corps Balochistan, Brigadier Shehzad Akhtar said that terrorists wanted to carry out attacks on the Muharram procession.
He said that acting on a tip-off, FC’s Pishin Scouts carried out a search near the border and stopped two suspected vehicles.
During the search, FC personnel recovered 28 hand grenades, three suicide jackets, 20 kilogrammes of explosive material, two cylinder IEDs, 21 detonators, eight packets of ball bearings, one Magnetic IED and three pistols among other things.
“Three of the suspects are being questioned by concerned officers and we, the FC, will not disclose their identity and affiliation until investigations are completed,” he said.
He said that the FC had tightened security along the Afghan border and was also monitoring activities in nearby villages because of Murharram.
“I can not say whether the suspects entered from Afghanistan or were already present in Pishin district,” he told journalists.
He said it was a joint raid carried out by the FC and other law enforcement agencies. “FC is in contact with other law enforcement agencies and has tightened security since Muharram 1. There might be other terrorists trying to carry out subversive activities, but forces are on alert,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.