ISLAMABAD, Oct 23: Police on Monday arrested three more militants with suspected links to Al Qaeda over attempted rocket attacks in and around the federal capital, a police official said.

The trio were arrested in Islamabad’s industrial area when police intercepted a car, senior superintendent of police Sikandar Hayat told AFP.

“The arrests were made following information provided by eight others arrested earlier,” Mr Hayat said.

Earlier this month security forces arrested eight militants and seized rockets, grenades, explosives and hundreds of sniper rifle rounds in raids at undisclosed locations in Pakistan.

A joint investigation team of police and intelligence agencies was conducting the probe, Mr Hayat said.

President Pervez Musharraf earlier this month said that an “extremist” gang had been arrested after two rockets were found near parliament on October 5 and two more near the spy agency headquarters in Islamabad two days later.

A previously unexplained blast in the Ayub public park in Rawalpindi on October 4, near Musharraf’s army residence, was caused by another rocket, one of a further four planted by the militants.

Militants had planned to launch the rockets simultaneously in Islamabad and Rawalpindi by the use of mobile phone signals, interior minister Aftab Sherpao has said.

But only one device worked, in the Ayub park, Rawalpindi, and did not cause any casualties.

The intelligence agencies traced the suspects by decoding mobile sets attached to shells.—AFP