Major terror bid foiled in Pakistan's Punjab province; 5 TTP, LeJ terrorists arrested

Lahore: Pakistani counter-terrorism officials on Saturday claimed to have foiled a major terror plot to target key installations in the Punjab province by arresting five suspected terrorists from banned terror outfits.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab police said it conducted 179 intelligence-based operations in different districts of the province this week, in which five terrorists were arrested.

The CTD said that it foiled a major terror plot by arresting the terrorists linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militant groups as the militants had planned sabotage across the province and wanted to target important installations. “The arrest of these terrorists was carried out during intelligence-based operations in Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Bahawalpur and Rawalpindi,” the CTD said in a statement.

Around half a kg of explosives, two hand grenades, 2 IED bombs, five detonators, 13 feet of safety fuse wire, 3.5 feet of prima cards and banned literature were recovered from those arrested.

The police have registered five cases against the terrorists and shifted them to an undisclosed location for interrogation.