ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: Security forces arrested a foreign Al Qaeda suspect and killed another in a shootout, the information minister said on Thursday, and officials are investigating whether one is a Syrian with reported links to the Madrid and London bombings.

“Security forces had an encounter when they raided a house in Quetta on Tuesday. They captured a foreigner and killed another and they may be Al Qaeda operatives,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told AFP.

“They are Arabs but their nationality is not yet known,” Sheikh Rashid said. “We don’t know the identity of the one who was killed or arrested. Apparently they are not high-value targets but they’re hiding their identities.”

Intelligence agencies are trying to establish if one of the men is wanted Syrian national Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab Al Suri, security officials and another government official said on condition of anonymity.

“They are seeking to confirm whether he is Syrian national Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, who has a bounty of $5 million,” the government official said. “But there is no confirmation as yet.”

Agents raided their hideout in Sirki Road, the busiest street in Quetta, just before iftar, a local official added.

“The suspect who died in the shootout was hit by bullets in the head,” the official said.

Nasar is an Al Qaeda member and former trainer at two terror camps in Afghanistan, the US Justice Department website says. —Agencies

Our Staff Correspondent adds: Provincial authorities have confirmed the arrest of an important Al Qaeda suspect in Quetta. “Yes, security officials have picked up a most wanted terrorist,” a senior official of the provincial government said on Thursday.

“We have no knowledge about the person arrested in Quetta on Monday,” Inspector General of Police in Balochistan Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob told Dawn. The security agencies that made the arrest did not involve police in their action, he said.