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Imamia Masjid blast: Suspects arrested from Peshawar, Khyber

PESHAWAR: In a key development on Tuesday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa anti-terrorism department and intelligence agencies arrested suspects said to be involved in the Imamia Masjid suicide blast in Peshawar that claimed 20 lives. Sources said that the suspects, whose identities were not revealed, were arrested by security forces from different areas of Peshawar and Khyber Agency. Sources in the provincial anti-terrorism department said further arrests of key suspects involved in the blast will soon be carried out. At least 20 worshippers were killed when four suicide bombers attacked the Imamia Masjid in Hayatabad Town during Friday prayers last week. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), headed by Mullah Fazlullah, claimed responsibility for the attack. A TTP spokesman said the attack was carried out to avenge the recent hanging of militant commander Dr Usman, who had led the assault on the Pakistan Army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi on October 10, 2009.