Karachi raid: Al Qaeda suspect detained for ISI office attack

Security officials believe Sheikh Adil’s associates are involved in attack on Benazir’s convoy.

LAHORE/ KARACHI:

Law-enforcement agencies have detained a suspected al Qaeda-linked terrorist for plotting an attack on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) office in Sukkur, officials said.

Five suicide bombers had attacked the ISI’s regional office in Sukkur on July 24 this year, killing at least four officials and injuring 35 others.

According to the police, the suspect, Sheikh Adil Azeem, belongs to the Ahmad Farooq group – a militant faction linked with al Qaeda, and was taken into custody from Baloch Colony, Karachi, on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, SSP South Muneer Ahmed Shaikh said the police on a tip-off, conducted a raid at the hideout and arrested Azeem.



During interrogation, the accused confessed that he was a part of the team that planned the attack on the ISI office for releasing two associates detained by the agency, sources said.

He also revealed that two other members of his group, Talat and Zafar, had abetted the plot. According to sources, Azeem revealed that the plan was finalised in a mosque situated in Karachi.

Police and intelligence officials believe Azeem’s two associates are also linked with the attack on former premier Benazir Bhutto’s convoy in Karsaz on October 18, 2007. The accused said he had been offered a role in this attack, but declined.

Since 2007, Talat and Zafar have gone off the radar and intelligence officials have confirmed their constant search for the two suspects.

Security officials believe most members of this group received training from Afghanistan and that Azeem is an explosives expert.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that Karachi police officials had contacted intelligence agencies and sought help for arresting other members of this group.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2013.