NAPLES, Feb 14: An Italian judge ordered the release on Wednesday of all 28 Pakistanis arrested last month on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, saying there was not enough evidence to hold them, a court statement said.

The ruling represented a blow for the Italian police who have seen a number of high-profile terror probes fall apart in recent months following an initial blaze of publicity.

The 28 were arrested two weeks ago after military police burst into an apartment in a rundown area of central Naples and said they discovered nearly a kilo (two pounds) of explosives, 70 metres of fuse and several detonators crammed behind a false wall.

Police said religious documents, detailed maps of Naples, with NATO and U.S. military installations highlighted, and a photograph of Britain’s most senior military man, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, were also uncovered.

However, Pakistan protested formally against the mass arrests, arguing that the men were innocent immigrants who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.—Reuters