CID arrests six, foils terror plot to target Muharram procession

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KARACHI: The Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday arrested six alleged members of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), believed to be plotting an attack on a procession in the upcoming holy month of Muharram procession.
The men were arrested in an early morning raid in the city’s Manghopir area. CID SP and AEC chief, Omer Shahid Hamid, told a press conference along with SSP Chaudhry Aslam Khan, that the six men were identified as Qari Dawood, Nafees Abbas, Ikramul Haq, Mohammad Shahid, Mohammad Ubaidulah and Noshad.
The police officer said 25 kilogrammes of explosives, 10 hand grenades, five Kalashnikov rifles, four TT pistols and chemicals used in medicines had been recovered from their possession. Hamid said the men were planning to attack a Muharram procession and had stored heavy explosive material for this purpose.
Qari Dawood was in the CID’s Red Book and Ikramul Haq had closed links to an arrested terrorist, Waseem Baroodi. Initial probe revealed that Dawood was the commander-in-operation and tasked with carrying out terror acts in the city by Qari Abid Mehsud, leader of his own LeJ faction. They were tasked with targeting Shias and had links to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hamid said.
The suspects also revealed that they were planning to kill leaders of the Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan during Muharram. “Dawood might be responsible for the recent killings of Shia leaders and is involved in kidnappings for ransom and robberies,” the police official said.