Wednesday, May 24, 2006

IRAQ: PAKISTANIS ARRESTED NEAR BASRA WITH LARGE ARMS CACHE

IRAQ: PAKISTANIS ARRESTED NEAR BASRA WITH LARGE ARMS CACHE

Basra, 24 May (AKI) - Three Pakistanis arrested in southern Iraq in recent says were in possession of large quantities of arms and explosives, says the police chief of al-Zubayr, Ahmad Ali. He told Adnkronos International (AKI) that the border police had tipped them off that "some infiltrators had entered the country illegally and were based in al-Zubayr [south of Basra]. "Our investigators soon identified three non-Arabs in the area and after several days of surveillance, it emerged that three Pakistanis had entered illegally across the Iranian border and were in possession of large quantities of arms and powerful explosives."
"This confirmed out suspicions that they were involved in criminal activities" Ali noted, adding that the three Pakistanis "are being interrogated to discovered who financed and sent them."