The Pakistan Police on Monday arrested seven alleged militants, including two senior members of the proscribed Daesh terror group*, thwarting a suspected terror incident in the country's Punjab province.
As per the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Police, the arrests were made following a massive manhunt launched in many districts of Pakistan's richest province.
"The CTD conducted 49 intelligence-based operations across the province during which seven suspected terrorists belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan** and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi including two commanders of ISIS, Shahid Hussain, and Siaful Din were arrested," a spokesperson for the Counter Terrorism Department said.
The spokesman added that the seven arrested individuals were planning to carry out terrorist activities in and around major state installations and security forces in Punjab.
During the operation, police collected 14 detonators, more than three kilograms of explosives, inflammatory literature, and Pakistani currency from the suspected terrorists.
Pakistani security agencies have stepped up their operations against the Daesh terror network in the country following a suicide attack on a political rally in Bajaur district of the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in July, which left dozens dead.
Last week, law enforcement agencies arrested five women suspected to have an association with Daesh from Lahore and Sheikhupura cities of Pakistan's Punjab province.
* Banned terrorist group
** A terrorist organization banned in Russia and India.