Pakistani suicide bomber arrested

KHOST: A suspected Pakistani suicide bomber who planned to target foreign troops and senior Afghan officials has been arrested in Afghanistan’s Khost province, officials said on Sunday.

“We arrested a Pakistani, Shahbaz, on Friday near Khost city after a tip off that some foreign suicide bombers have entered the province,” Khost border forces commander Almar Gul Mangal said.

“Shahbaz has confessed coming to Afghanistan with a five-member group four days prior to his arrest and was looking for coalition and high-ranking Afghan targets to carry out suicide attacks,” Mangal said.

Shahbaz had lived in Sialkot. He was arrested in the Zirai Tarkha area, 2 kilometres west of Khost city. The US-led coalition forces have a base at Khost airport. The suicide bomber was handed over to coalition forces after primary interrogations by Afghan police, said the commander.

A coalition spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

“The bomber speaks fluent Punjabi, Urdu and Pashto. He had a 2,300 UAE Dirham check on him and was arrested in the evening in a mosque,” he said. “We are looking for another four (suspected) bombers who are in Khost province and they might have some Afghan allies as well who have guided them in the province,” he said. afp

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