Investigators search for clues; dozens detained

PESHAWAR: Dozens of suspects were arrested by the security forces in joint operations on Saturday, a day after at least 29 people were martyred in Taliban-claimed attack on a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base camp on the outskirts of Peshawar. Taliban militants dressed in FC uniforms attacked the air force base in Badhaber area, the group’s deadliest assault in months following a major military offensive against them. All 14 attackers were also killed in retaliation by security forces, the military said. “At least 22 suspects including eight Afghan nationals have been detained from different parts of Peshawar city since Friday after the attack, and are being thoroughly interrogated,” a senior local police official Shakir Bangash told AFP. He said some of the suspects were set free after an initial interrogation while others, including the eight Afghans, are still in custody. Security forces also arrested former owner of the vehicle used in the terrorist attack from in Ahmedpur area of Rahim Yar Khan district. Police said Asif had sold out his pick-up to his brother-in-law who later sold it to a person from Waziristan. The vehicle was sold out to five different people. A senior security official told AFP evidence was still being collected from the site of the attack to find more clues about how the incident happened and how the attackers entered the camp. The insurgents entered the residential compound at the base, attacking a mosque where they killed 16 air force personnel as they were about to offer dawn prayers. Another seven air force personnel were also killed in a barrack adjacent to mosque.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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