Pakistan arrests four for Karachi airport attack: Officials

AFP , Tuesday 28 Oct 2014

Karachi airport
Smoke rises above Karachi airport terminal Monday, June 9, 2014 in Pakistan (Photo: AP)

Pakistan police have arrested four men for planning and financing the deadly attack on Karachi international airport in June that left 38 dead, officials said on Tuesday.

The brazen attack on the Pakistan's busiest airport was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban and lead to the collapse of peace talks with the government and the launch of a long awaited army offensive against militant hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal agency.

Three suspects were arrested Monday night after a forth man who had been detained earlier led the police to his accomplices, police said.

"We arrested all of them from different places in Karachi and they belonged to a banned group linked with Al Qaeda," Raja Umar Khatab, a senior police official, told AFP.

Police say that the four men arranged 20 million rupees ($194,000) to fund the attack.

"They sent the money to the bordering areas to finance the training and acquiring weapons for the attack," Khatab said.

Ten militants lay siege the airport on a Sunday night in June holding control of the area until dawn. They stormed the terminal disguised as airport guards equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers.

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