6 terrorists, IS and former al-Qaeda chief recruiter arrested in Pakistan

Karachi: Six hardcore terrorists and an IS recruiter, a former top commander of al-Qaeda and currently a recruiter for the Islamic State, were arrested along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition from Pakistan's troubled Baluchistan province on Saturday.

The commander, along with his six accomplices, was arrested in a targeted operation in Nushki area of Baluchistan by law enforcement agencies after a intelligence tip-off. "The operation was conducted on basis of information extracted from some arrested al-Qaeda operatives," a security official said.

He said that a large cache of arms, ammunition, militant- literature and cash was also seized from the arrested terrorists. These included improvised explosive devices (IED), explosive material, seven AK-47 assault rifles, 12 gauge rifle, 168 primer cords, 40 hand grenades, 150 rounds of ammunition, three swords, two telescopes, two binoculars, laptops, 15 mobile phones and an Islamic State flag.

The detained commander was with al-Qaeda since 2012 and was trained in Afghanistan but last year he went to Syria for more training and then joined the IS, he added.