Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel on Monday raided a militant hideout in Rawalpindi, arresting three suspects linked to past bomb attacks, including a blast that took place in the garrison city's Pirwadhai area earlier this month.

The men apprehended during an intelligence-based operation near Adiala Road were also plotting to target the Islamabad Stock Exchange with an explosion, a CTD spokesperson said.

According to a police statement, the suspects were involved in four bombings that killed four people and wounded 30 others, this year alone.

It said the arrested militants had a history of links with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but were now allegedly acting as mercenaries and receiving instructions from someone in Afghanistan.

CTD personnel also recovered explosives, detonators and mobile phones from the suspects, it said.

On December 4, an improvised explosive device had gone off outside a general store in the Pirwadhai area, leaving one person dead and seven others injured. The blast triggered fire in an auto-rickshaw parked outside the shop and caused considerable damage to the Usman General Store.

The CTD raid comes a day after a roadside explosion wounded 25 people near a police station in Rawalpindi's busy Ganj Mandi area.