KARACHI, May 9: Judicial magistrates on Friday again gave two Al Qaeda suspects, who were arrested with 626 kilograms of explosive material, in police custody for four days.

Suspects Mohammed Anver alias Jabir and Habibullah alias Imran, booked for possessing illegal arms and ammunition and explosive material by two police stations, were first remanded in police custody for seven days on May 3.

On Friday, the police produced the two suspects before the Judicial Magistrate, Malir, Farid Anver Kazi, in the case of Gulzar-i-Hijri police and then in the court of the Judicial Magistrate, East, Basheer Channa, in the case of Korangi Industrial Area police.

The investigation wing of the Karachi police brought the two suspects, allegedly trained in Afghanistan, to the courts with their faces covered with cloths under tight security.

The Al Qaeda activists, who were allegedly planning to launch a series of attacks on US interests in the city, were booked in three FIRs (124, 125 and 126) by the Gulzar-i-Hijri police after the Rangers reportedly seized from them 143kg explosives, 199 electronic detonators, 50 simple detonators, one roll of detonator card, two sub-machine guns, two pistols, 10 magazines of SMG, and around 1,000 live rounds. The Suzuki pickup (KA-9818), loaded with the arms cache, was also impounded.

The case, registered at Korangi Industrial Area police station, also pertained to the possession of illegal arms and ammunition, including 483kg explosives, 112 hand grenades and 57 detonators.

Both the magistrates extended the remand of the Al Qaeda men and ordered the police to produce the suspects before them on May 13.