Man arrested over suspected links with Al-Qaeda in Swat
Pakistan Times Northern Areas Bureau Report

SWAT: Three people were arrested in an operation in Swat in which one is suspected for links with Al-Qaeda.

Security agencies, Punjab elite force and Swat police in a joint operation launched late Saturday night raided a house in the Tehsil of Matta in Swat and arrested three people there.

According to sources one arrested person might have links with al-Qaeda.

In-depth

A suspected militant accused of involvement in two failed assassination attempts on Pakistan's President was arrested near a remote northwestern village Sunday, an official said.

The suspect, identified as Omar Rahman, was captured by Pakistan's authorities along with two family members during a raid near Sawat, 180 miles north of Peshawar, said the official to a foreign news agency.

Assault Rifles

Authorities seized assault rifles and bomb-making material from the suspect's home, the official said.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf escaped unhurt in both attacks in December 2003, when assassins tried to blow up his motorcade near the capital, Islamabad. The first attack didn't injure anybody, but 17 people died in the second.

Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terror.

Rahman's arrest came 10 days after Pakistan published photos of six terrorist suspects including Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a Libyan accused by Musharraf of orchestrating the assassination attempts. Rahman's photo was not among those distributed.●