BAHAWALNAGAR, April 5: Police claimed on Saturday to have arrested eight suspected suicide bombers.

District Police Officer Syed Zafar Abbas Bokhari told a news conference that a clue to a terrorism plot was detected during a probe into the Haroonabad bomb blast, which took place near the residence of former minister Ijazul Haq on Dec 30. The ‘premature’ explosion had killed two suicide bombers.

The DPO said Maulana Farooq Ahmad Rajanpuri, the chief of Madressah Nusratul Mujahideen, Khichiwala, Bahawalnagar, was the leader of the gang and another member, Mohammad Ashraf, was known as an expert in bomb making.He said Ashraf had brought 45kg explosives from the Mohammad Usman Mujahid in Sargodha.

The other members of the gang are Mohammad Abdullah Kamboh, Mohammad Amin Kharal, Mohammad Talib Rehmani, Mohammad Siddique, Inamul Haq and Hafiz Bashir Ahmad. The DPO said the suspects had installed two bombs in Bahawalnagar at different points recently which fortunately did not explode.