6 terrorists linked to hostel attack arrested in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani law enforcement agencies on Monday arrested at least six terrorists in connection with a terrorist attack that killed 11 people at a hostel inside the Agricultural Training Institute in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar earlier this month, local Urdu media reported.

At least 37 others were also injured in the attack on Dec. 1. The banned militants group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the attack. Both Pakistani police and military officials said the attackers had been coordinating with handlers based in Afghanistan.

Suicide jackets and explosive material were recovered from the possession of the arrested terrorists, the Dawn News quoted official sources as saying, adding that the main culprit behind the attack remains at large and efforts are underway to apprehend him.

The militants were arrested from the adjoining areas of Charsadda and Mohmand Agency in the province. They have been shifted to a police station and are being interrogated, according to the reports.

The day after the attack, at least nine suspects were nabbed during a pre-dawn search operation carried out by the security forces on the outskirts of Peshawar and different kinds of weapons were seized from the suspects. Enditem