1,500kgs of explosives, suicide vests seized in Lahore
By Muhammad Faisal Ali
Tuesday, 16 Mar, 2010
Police officers load sacks of explosives onto a truck in Lahore. Police discovered a cache of bomb-making equipment and thousands of pounds of explosives in an empty Lahore shop where authorities said a string of attacks on the city may have been plotted.
LAHORE: Police seized a big quantity of explosives, suicide jackets, hand-grenades, magazines, bullets and other material from a shop in Allama Iqbal Town here on Monday and arrested 12 terror suspects, including the owner of the shop.
During a search operation, police broke open a shop near Sabzi Mandi, in Gulshan Iqbal and recovered 1,500 kilograms of explosives, two suicide jackets, 16 hand-grenades, 25 magazines and thousands of bullets of sub-machine gun, 200 large bullets of light machine gun besides detonators, fuses and wires.
Police also found expensive belts used to support light machine guns.
The recovery was made just three days after two suicide blasts in RA Bazaar and six low-intensity explosions in and around Iqbal Town. Iqbal Town SP Ali Nasir Rizvi told Dawn nine police teams comprising officials of both operations and investigation wings launched a thorough search in the entire division during the past three days.
He said the teams, which worked in nine circles, broke all locked houses, offices and shops in Gulshan Iqbal, Paikhay Wala village, Najaf Colony and several blocks of Iqbal Town.
He said Sheikh Akmal of Mehran Block, owner of the shop, disclosed that he had rented out the shop to one Umer about one and a half months ago.
According to officials of the bomb disposal squad, terrorists used the same material in six explosions on March 12 and a suicide blast in Model Town on March 8.
He said the terrorists were apparently storing the explosives and weapons for a major terror activity.
The SP said the seizure of such explosives and weapons suggested that terrorists wanted to act on the pattern of the Mumbai attacks.
The explosives were enough to carry out six big blasts.
Police investigators told Dawn that they had traced some important telephone numbers and a network linked to the recent blasts in Lahore.
They said Sheikh Akmal, the shop owner, knew the terrorists who had dumped explosives in his shop.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...-in-lahore-630
1,500kgs of explosives, suicide vests seized in Lahore
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