Police claimed on Thursday to have arrested five militants belonging to the newly formed Al Qaeda India (AQI) group allegedly involved in the terrorist attack on Navy’s dockyard in September.
They were arrested during a raid in old Haji Camp, Napier, by personnel of the CID’s anti-extremism cell. Police said 10 kilograms of explosive material, two rifles, three pistols and some ammunition had been recovered from their possession.
The suspects were identified as Qari Shahid Usman, Asad Khan, Fawad Khan, Shahid Ansari and Usman, aka Islam. A CID official said Qari Shahid Usman was chief of AQI in Karachi. The group’s country head is Asim Umer. The official claimed that the suspects had planned and funded the attack on the dockyard in which several attackers and Navy personnel were killed. He also claimed that they were plotting another attack on the dockyard.
