Islamabad: Four militants belonging to the banned Islamic group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has been arrested by Pakistan police on December 20 for allegedly planning suicide attacks in Karachi city, according to media reports.

Contingents of police took the four into custody on December 20 night when they headed to destroy a bridge, a media report said, adding three handgrenades were recovered from them.

However, there was no official comment on the arrest so far.

The arrested were identified as Riaz-Uddin alias Papa, Kamiran alias Kamu, Abdul- Rehman and Aziz Mubarak.

All four were produced before the court, which ordered the men be remanded to police custody for four days.

Police said they believe that two members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida group recruited the four.

While being interrogated, the four men told police they were recruited more than two months ago by two men from a Middle Eastern country and given Rs 10,000 to purchase explosives.

One of the men, Aziz, told the police that he met the two Arabs to plan attacks at the Karachi Airport Hotel where forces in the United States-led coalition in Afghanistan were staying, the report added.

JeM, which was banned along with another Islamic outfit Lashker-e-Toiba involved in the attack on the Indian Parliament last year, was in the news as the Lahore High Court ordered release of its leader Mauling Mastoid Asher from preventive detention.

The JeM is also linked to the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl.

PTI