Pakistani court awards life term to 6 Taliban suspects
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, June 6, IRNA -- An anti-terror court in Pakistan Saturday handed down life-term to six Taliban suspects who were accused of planning attacks on foreigners and manufacturing suicide jackets, court officials said.
Police had arrested the six suspected terrorists, including a would-be suicide bomber near the eastern city of Lahore in February this year, and had seized hand-grenades, explosives, a suicide jacket and five detonators.
Police told the court that during interrogation, the suspects had revealed that they had planned to target Americans staying in a five-star hotel in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.
They are believed to be members of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
The city of Lahore has seen series of bombings and attacks on security forces and minority religious sect in recent months as the Taliban have intensified attacks outside northwest.
On May 28, Taliban militants attacked two places of worship of minority Ahmadi sect in Lahore, killing over 90 people and injured some 125 others.
An Ant-Terrorism Court awarded life-term to the suspected after they were proved guilty of planning attacks on Americans in a five-star hotel in Lahore and manufacturing suicide jackets.
The six convicts include ringleader of the group, Abdul Baseer alias Qari Waqas, who was a prayer leader in a mosque in Khyber tribal agency and associated with an Afghan militant group, according to police.
He took part in the war against NATO forces in Afghanistan and was an expert in manufacturing suicide jackets and explosives, a police officer says.
Police say that Baseer had indoctrinated 14-year old Mohiuddin, who was studying in his mosque, and prepared him to carry out a suicide attack on the Americans staying in a Lahore hotel.
The convicts Tehsil Khan, Abdul Rehman, Sabeeh Shah, Dilawar Saeed and Mohiuddin, have the right to appeal against conviction in high court.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 1158368
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