Ten alleged ISIS and Al-Qaeda militants are detained by Pakistani police

Punjab Police in Pakistan said on Saturday that they had arrested ten suspected terrorists from several banned organizations, including Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and so thwarted a “major terror plot” in the province.

In a statement, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed that it carried out 117 intelligence-based operations this week in various districts of Punjab, during which time 117 individuals were questioned and 10 terrorists carrying guns, explosives, and other forbidden items were taken into custody.

The statement said that the terrorists belonged to the banned organizations Daesh (ISIS), Al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkr-e-Jhangvi, and 313 Brigade Terrorist Group and claimed that they had “planned sabotage and wanted to target important installations” in Punjab, a province with a population surpassed by 120 million.

According to the CTD, these terrorists were apprehended in Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Lahore.

The terrorists’ possession included two IED explosives, a hand grenade, three detonators, eleven feet of safety fuse wire, prohibited literature, and cash. They are now being investigated further by the police, who have filed eight charges against them and taken them to an undisclosed location.