SA terror link 'not confirmed'
2004-07-27 11:39
Johannesburg - The foreign affairs department could still not confirm on Tuesday that South African citizens were among the suspected terrorists arrested in Pakistan on the weekend.
"We are in touch with the embassy officials. They say at this point they are trying to get more information. We can't confirm anything," said Nomfanelo Kota, a departmental spokesperson.
On Monday The Daily Times, an English-language Pakistani newspaper, reported that two South Africans were among terrorism suspects arrested after a shootout on a house in Gujrat early on Sunday.
They were reportedly being questioned by Pakistani intelligence officials, and it was unclear whether they had links with al-Qaeda.
Pakistan's interior ministry spokesperson Abdul Rauf Chaudhry told the Daily Times that some of the 13 foreigners arrested came from Sudan, Kenya and South Africa.
"Why are these people staying in Pakistan?" he asked.
Women and children were also captured during the raid, and Pakistan authorities had seized two AK-47 rifles, chemicals, two computers, computer discs, and a "large amount" of foreign currency.
Police had raided the house after receiving information from an arrested militant. Those inside the house had fought for fourteen hours before they surrendered.
The raided house had "two world maps hanging on the walls and manuscripts of the Holy Quran," The Daily Times reported.
- SAPA