Police arrested seven members of an Al-Qaeda-linked group and seized suicide vests, explosives and heroin during a raid in Pakistan's southern commercial center that thwarted planned terrorist attacks, officials said Monday. The raid on a Karachi hide-out of the militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi provided rare intelligence on how drug money is transferred among Muslim extremist groups cooperating to fight the Pakistani and Afghan governments as well as foreign troops in Afghanistan, authorities said. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is blamed for two failed assassination attempts against former president Pervez Musharraf and the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The group smuggled the heroin to Singapore, Malaysia, China and United Arab Emirates, and the profits were used to finance terrorist activities, police officer Fayyaz Khan told The Associated Press. Pakistan has been hit by hundreds of terrorist attacks blamed on various militant groups, including the Pakistani Taleban, which has seen confusion over its leadership since chief Baitullah Mehsud was apparently killed in a US missile strike Aug. 5 near the Afghan border. In the Karachi raid Sunday night, police seized three suicide vests, 33 pounds (15 kg) of explosives, 10 assault weapons and about 4.5 pounds (2 kg) of heroin, Khan said. Police officer Saud Mirza said the raid prevented terrorist attacks the militants were planning in Karachi on government officials, police and offices of intelligence agencies. He would not be more specific about the targets, saying it could jeopardize an ongoing investigation. The militants had previously been known as a Sunni sectarian group blamed for attacks on minority Shiite Muslims, whom they consider heretics. However, in recent years the group – based mostly in eastern Punjab province – has been increasingly associated with both the Pakistani Taleban, based mostly in the northwest, and Al-Qaeda. – AP Two members of the group were arrested and accused of leading the gang that kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl in Karachi in 2002 on behalf of Al
