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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s army said Friday it arrested 97 militants from al Qaeda and another militant group, and foiled a plot to break the killers of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl out of jail.
The militants arrested in the southern city of Karachi included three commanders, according to the army, as well as members of the Islamist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The men are accused of involvement in major attacks on two Pakistani air bases, Karachi’s airport, several regional intelligence headquarters and police installations between 2009 and 2015, the military said.
An arrested militant suspect is seen in this still image taken from video on Februrary 12, 2016. Reuters
The LeJ’s Naeem Bokhari and Sabir Khan, as well as Farooq Bhatti, deputy chief of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), were captured by Pakistani forces in recent raids, military spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said.
“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.
Bajwa added that the LeJ and AQIS had been working “in collusion” with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban.