ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Law-enforcement agencies claimed on Thursday to have averted at least four major terror attacks in different parts of the country and said that 19 suspects, who were being controlled by some people in tribal areas near the Afghan border, had been arrested.

An interior ministry official told Dawn that seven people had been arrested from Dera Ismail Khan on Jan 29. They were local Taliban and belonged to the Mehsud tribe from the South Waziristan Agency.

Twelve Afghan nationals were arrested for suspected links with militants in Faisalabad on Jan 29, he added.

On Wednesday night, local administration had placed state-run hospitals on high alert apprehending terror attacks.

In a similar move, the Foreign Office asked foreign diplomats and nationals to restrict their movements till further notice.

The interior ministry official said that a countrywide terror alert, especially in Islamabad, had been issued after investigations revealed presence of some suicide bombers in various parts of the country. The terror threat level had not been lowered from ‘red alert’, he added.

He said that motels and hotels were being closely monitored to trace the remaining suspects, and airports, railway stations and bus terminals were under watch.

About the arrests in Dera Ismail Khan, he said the suspects had been brought to Islamabad for interrogation, adding that explosive belts had been found in their possession, besides cellphones with videos of Taliban activities.

The official said that during interrogation of the suspects, clues had been found to some potential suicide bombers who were arrested in Karachi, Sukkur and Hyderabad.

He said that major terrorist attacks had also been planned in Faisalabad, Bannu and Kohat between Jan 28 and Jan 30 but they were averted.

The official said that two unexploded rocket shells were seized in Bannu on Jan 28 and hand-grenades and a large quantity of explosive material was seized on Jan 30.

An improvised explosive device was found in a place where a women’s majlis was in progress in Kohat on Jan 29, while two remote-controlled bombs were recovered from a railway crossing in Bannu near a mosque on Jan 30, he added.

He said that after a threat issued by local Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud to avenge the Jan 16 air strike in Zamzola with severe attacks, a series of suicide bombings in the country.