Pakistan foils car bomb terror plot near capital

A Pakistani policeman frisks a man at a checkpoint in Islamabad yesterday. Pakistani police have foiled a major terror plot, seizing three explosives-packed vehicles and arresting six people including three would-be suicide bombers near Islamabad. Photo: AFP

Pakistani police have foiled a major terror plot, seizing three explosives-packed vehicles and arresting six people including three would-be suicide bombers near Islamabad, officials said Friday.
The discovery of the massive bombs in the army headquarters city of Rawalpindi, which adjoins the capital, comes just days after a deadly suicide car bomb attack outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad.
Security forces placed the two cities on red alert following the discovery of the explosives, which amounted to nearly 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) in total between the three cars.
Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik was quoted by local television stations as saying six "terrorists" including three suicide bombers had been arrested and three explosives-laden vehicles were seized.
The bombers "wanted to target installations of national importance," he told ARY One television.
"It was a major terrorist plot aimed at causing death and destruction in the twin cities," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.