Pakistani, U.S. officials raid militants' office, arrest 12

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani and U.S. law enforcement officers raided an office used by an organization linked to al-Qaida, arresting 12 men and seizing explosives and weapons, a Pakistani official said Wednesday.

Police said they believed the militants were working with al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives to carry out terror attacks inside Pakistan. A judge ordered them held pending further investigation.

Officials said the raid, which took place Tuesday and involved the FBI and Pakistani authorities, was on a building that was used by the Pakistani militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen before it was outlawed in January. The 12 suspected militants were found hiding in the building's basement, the official said, on condition of anonymity.

Two of those arrested were Afghans and the rest were Pakistanis, police said.

Earlier, a police official said the group included foreigners from Arab or Muslim countries. They reportedly did not resist arrest and no injuries were reported.

The official said investigators found explosives, timing devices, bomb detonators, a bulletproof vest, mobile phones, identity cards and assault rifles in the basement. The men appeared to be planning terrorist attacks when they were arrested, the official said.

Another official said the suspects have been handed over to the Joint Interrogation Team, a task force from Pakistan's different police and intelligence agencies, for investigation into possible ties with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization.

Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen is a major militant group fighting in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. It maintained close ties to al-Qaida and trained its fighters in Afghanistan before last year's U.S. bombing campaign.

Three admitted members of the group have been arrested for planning the car-bombing of the U.S. consulate in Karachi, which killed 12 Pakistanis and injured 50 people. The suspects' trial began Saturday.