NEW DELHI: India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Saturday it has arrested nine Al-Qaeda militants who were planning attacks in several locations including the capital New Delhi.
“The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” the country’s main counter-terrorism arm said in a statement.
Those arrested “were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places” including the capital region.
Six of the militants were arrested in the eastern state of West Bengal and while three in the southern state of Kerala, the NIA said, adding the individuals were “associated with Pakistan sponsored module of Al-Qaeda.”
A spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan has often denied giving material support to militants.
India has stepped up an offensive against militants in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir and elsewhere.
Last year, Indian forces killed the leader of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group in Kashmir, triggering protests in parts of the disputed region.
In the latest raids, the NIA seized sharp weapons, domestically made firearms and locally fabricated body armor. The nine militants will be produced in court for police custody and further investigation, the agency said.
India arrests 9 Al-Qaeda militants planning ‘terrorist attacks’
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India arrests 9 Al-Qaeda militants planning ‘terrorist attacks’
Afghanistan says it has released 3 Pakistani soldiers captured during October cross-border fighting
- Tension between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan has been high since deadly border clashes in October killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounded hundreds more on both sides
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan has released three Pakistani soldiers who it had captured during cross-border fighting last October, its government spokesman said Tuesday.
Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement the three, who had been captured during fighting on Oct. 12, were turned over to a Saudi delegation that mediated between the two sides and had traveled to Kabul on Monday. He said the release was decided upon in light of the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and reflection.
Tension between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan has been high since deadly border clashes in October killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounded hundreds more on both sides. The violence erupted after explosions in Kabul, the Afghan capital, on Oct. 9 that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan and vowed to avenge.
The fighting was the worst between the neighbors in recent years. A ceasefire mediated by Qatar has since eased tension, although subsequent peace talks in Istanbul failed to produce a definitive agreement and relations remain strained.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan on the release of the three soldiers.
