The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab claimed on Thursday that it busted a cell of the militant Islamic State (IS) group operating in Lahore and arrested eight suspects along with their ringleader.

Some members of the Daesh cell had already travelled to Syria and Afghanistan while some were preparing to leave when the raid took place, said a CTD spokesman, using the Arabic acronym for the militant group.

"[The] whole method [is] unearthed," he added.

The CTD also recovered IS literature, laptops and mobile phones from the suspects.

The spokesman claimed that the CTD had been "working" on the cell for last three months but arrested the suspects on Nov 16 as they were readying to leave for Syria and Afghanistan.

Nabeel alias Abu Abdullah of Lahore was the lynchpin of the group in Punjab while Qari Abid, who is now in Syria, is the main "motivator" who conducted his activities through social media, he said.

A First Information Report was lodged in the CTD police station. An investigation of the case is underway, the CTD said.