ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Police commandos raided a house in Sector G-6/1 in the wee hours of Friday and arrested five terrorists soon after a suspect disclosed their hideout under interrogation.

Inspector General of Police Bani Amin Khan told Dawn police were still hunting for a suicide bomber and his handler, Sardar Ali Khan Khattak, a naib qasid in the Ministry of Finance.

They were to join the terrorists, who are affiliated to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, on Friday to carry out suicide attack either on a Jumatul Wida congregation or the Al Quds Day rally that was to pass by their hideout, according to the city police chief.

It was possible that the two got wind of the pre-dawn arrests and changed their travel plans to Islamabad from the tribal area, he said.

Other police sources said that though not directly connected to Thursday's bomb threat to the Supreme Court, the police operation certainly sprang from the heightened vigilance that was mounted in the wake of that threat.

IGP Bani Amin said that events started rolling after a suspect was picked up from Anwar Hotel in Aabpara around 3am Friday.

His interrogation led to the terrorists’ hideout which was in the use of Sardar Ali Khan Khattak who has been on two-year leave from the finance ministry.

Subsequent arrest and interrogation of the five terrorists revealed that Khattak had gone to tribal area to bring a suicide bomber.

A suicide jacket, a hand grenade, two pistols, bullets and foreign currency were recovered from their hideout.

Further investigations are underway. Islamabad police have termed their operation “timely action and a great success” which helped thwart a terrorist attack.

IGP Bani Amin said the police were working on some vital leads to trace and arrest other terrorist hiding in the city, but would not share it with the media.

Several teams were working on the leads since the arrest of the six persons, he said.