Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Fred Kempe
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. Full Article
Images of March
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Search resumes in high-profile New York missing child case
11:10am EDT
China military warns of confrontation over seas
10:41am EDT
Analysis: Did U.S. fumble chance to peer inside China's secretive leadership?
5:18am EDT
Veteran Utah senator appears set to survive Tea Party challenge
9:31am EDT
French voters disillusioned on eve of election day
9:22am EDT
Discussed
177
Trayvon Martin’s killer showed signs of injury: neighbors
94
Scandal mars Obama’s wooing of Latin America
91
Nugent says had ”solid” meeting with Secret Service
Watched
Bull on bull in South Korean sport
Fri, Apr 20 2012
IMF gets $400 billion commitment
Fri, Apr 20 2012
Repaired A380 set for takeoff
5:06am EDT
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Weird world records
From who can wear the most bees to who can unicycle the longest. Slideshow
Protests in Bahrain
Anti-government demonstrations continue in Bahrain. Slideshow
Afghanistan arrests insurgents with explosives, makes Pakistan link
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Afghan government, Taliban condemn photos of U.S. troops with Afghan bodies
Thu, Apr 19 2012
Haqqani network behind Afghan attacks: U.S. envoy
Thu, Apr 19 2012
Afghan leader challenges Taliban "brothers" over attacks
Tue, Apr 17 2012
Karzai says NATO failed as 18-hour Kabul attack ends
Tue, Apr 17 2012
Afghan Taliban says rehearsed attack for two months
Tue, Apr 17 2012
Analysis & Opinion
The hunt for Hafiz Saeed
Sadly, human trophies are as old as war itself
Related Topics
World »
Afghanistan »
By Hamid Shalizi
KABUL |
Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:11am EDT
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan security forces have detained five insurgents with massive quantities of explosive material intended for use in attacks on crowded areas of Kabul and linked them to Pakistan-based militants, an intelligence spokesman said on Saturday.
The alleged connection to militants in Pakistan will likely step up the pressure on Islamabad, after a recent coordinated assault by insurgents on diplomatic and government areas in Kabul and elsewhere put the spotlight on the South Asian nation.
"It could have caused large-scale bloodshed," National Directorate of Security (NDS) spokesman Shafiqullah Tahiri told a news conference.
"Three Pakistani terrorists and two of their Afghan collaborators who placed the explosives under bags of potatoes in a truck were caught."
The 10 tons (22,046 lbs) of potassium material, used to make bombs, were stuffed into 400 bags and hidden under piles of potatoes in the back of a Pakistan-registered truck on Kabul's outskirts, said Tahiri.
The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, said there was "no question" that the Haqqani network, which Washington believes is based in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, mounted last weekend's 18-hour rocket and gunfire operation in Kabul.
Crocker called on Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqanis and said the response to that demand would influence future ties between the strategic allies.
Relations have been heavily strained by a series of events, including the unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in May of last year.
Pakistan has denied accusations that its military spy agency sees the Haqqanis as a counterweight to the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan.
Tahiri said the five men confessed to receiving training from Noor Afzal and Mohammad Omar, who he identified as key commanders of the Pakistani Taliban and Pakistan intelligence.
Video footage released by NDS to media showed the detained men, including the alleged Pakistanis, talking about where they came from while sitting against a blank white wall.
"My name is Majid Rahman, permanent resident of Khyber Agency from Zakha Khil tribe," said one. The other two alleged Pakistanis identified themselves as Asghar Khan from Karkhano, in Peshawar, and Qimat Khan, also from Khyber.
At the end of the video, the five men were shown hand-cuffed and standing in front of the potato bags and explosive material at the back of the truck.
A Pakistani intelligence official declined comment on the allegations, while Afghan officials did not immediately say when the men were arrested.
While the Pakistani Taliban cooperate with the Afghan Taliban, they are sworn enemies of the U.S.-backed Islamabad government and have mounted suicide bombings against Pakistani intelligence officials and security forces.
It's still not clear whether the confessions will create a new crisis in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Cross border ties went into a freeze last year after Kabul accused Pakistani agents of playing a role in the September assassination by insurgents of the head of the country's High Peace Council.
Afghanistan has long been suspicious of Pakistani intentions, accusing Islamabad of backing insurgent groups to further its interests.
Pakistan's government denies supporting or giving sanctuary to insurgents on its territory and has said it would do what it can to advance the Afghan reconciliation process.
Afghan officials say privately that Pakistan has not delivered on its promises, despite upbeat official assessments of cooperation from both sides in recent months.
The Taliban in March said they were suspending peace talks with the United States and a plan to open an office in the Gulf state of Qatar to smooth negotiations, accusing Washington of double-dealing over confidence-building measures including the release of insurgents from a U.S. military prison in Cuba.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Writing by Michael Georgy and Rob Taylor; Editing by)
World
Afghanistan
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.