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| Pakistani military foils major jailbreak plot by three terror groups | |
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| An elaborate plot by Pakistan’s most prominent terror groups to free scores of militants from a jail has been foiled, the country’s military has announced. | An elaborate plot by Pakistan’s most prominent terror groups to free scores of militants from a jail has been foiled, the country’s military has announced. |
| Two vehicles loaded with explosives were among the haul of weapons and bomb-making equipment seized during a raid on a rented house in Hyderabad, which the army said was at the centre of a plot that was “90% ready for execution”. | Two vehicles loaded with explosives were among the haul of weapons and bomb-making equipment seized during a raid on a rented house in Hyderabad, which the army said was at the centre of a plot that was “90% ready for execution”. |
| An army spokesman, Asim Bajwa, said the plotters intended to hit two points of the Hyderabad central jail complex. Once inside they planned to kill 35 prisoners on a hit list and free 100 others, including Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a former London School of Economics student convicted for killing the US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. | |
| Bajwa said 97 people had been arrested in various raids, including senior members of both al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (Aqis) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a Sunni supremacist group responsible for many massacres of Shias and which allegedly was once close to Pakistan’s intelligence establishment. | Bajwa said 97 people had been arrested in various raids, including senior members of both al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (Aqis) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a Sunni supremacist group responsible for many massacres of Shias and which allegedly was once close to Pakistan’s intelligence establishment. |
| In a sign of the country’s ever-evolving militant scene, Bajwa said the two groups were working together and with the Pakistani Taliban. “Our conclusion is that all of the terrorist groups are trying to cooperate with each other in order to carry out terrorist attacks,” he told a news conference. | In a sign of the country’s ever-evolving militant scene, Bajwa said the two groups were working together and with the Pakistani Taliban. “Our conclusion is that all of the terrorist groups are trying to cooperate with each other in order to carry out terrorist attacks,” he told a news conference. |
| Among those arrested were suspects accused of involvement in some of the highest-profile terror attacks in Pakistan’s recent history, including on two military airbases, Karachi’s civilian airport, regional intelligence headquarters and police buildings. | Among those arrested were suspects accused of involvement in some of the highest-profile terror attacks in Pakistan’s recent history, including on two military airbases, Karachi’s civilian airport, regional intelligence headquarters and police buildings. |
| Six people allegedly planning suicide bombings, a number of foreign nationals and a prison guard who allegedly provided information to the plotters were also among those held. | Six people allegedly planning suicide bombings, a number of foreign nationals and a prison guard who allegedly provided information to the plotters were also among those held. |
| Bajwa said the group had used a number of methods to avoid detection. Explosives and weapons had been moved around the country hidden inside washing machines transported on freight trains. A cover business manufacturing plastic containers had been set up in the Hyderabad house to avoid attracting attention. | Bajwa said the group had used a number of methods to avoid detection. Explosives and weapons had been moved around the country hidden inside washing machines transported on freight trains. A cover business manufacturing plastic containers had been set up in the Hyderabad house to avoid attracting attention. |
| The formation of Aqis was announced in 2014 by al-Qaida chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Bajwa described the group as one of the main terrorist organisations operating in Pakistan’s coastal city of Karachi. | The formation of Aqis was announced in 2014 by al-Qaida chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Bajwa described the group as one of the main terrorist organisations operating in Pakistan’s coastal city of Karachi. |
| It was in Karachi that Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was kidnapped in 2002 while researching a story about militant groups in the city. Bajwa said a two-year, army-led crackdown in the city had reduced the number of kidnappings, murders and other serious crimes. | It was in Karachi that Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was kidnapped in 2002 while researching a story about militant groups in the city. Bajwa said a two-year, army-led crackdown in the city had reduced the number of kidnappings, murders and other serious crimes. |