ISLAMABAD, May 3: The Army's 111 Brigade moved to Islamabad on Tuesday but there was no official confirmation of its presence in the capital city.

A source in the Army however suggested it could be a normal exercise. The area of deployment of 111 Brigade falls in the security zone and the personnel may have come over for exercise, the source said. A senior police officer, however, said: “We came to know about the presence of 111 Brigade in Islamabad through our beat officers.” Police are informed whenever the Army moved in or moved out of the city, but not this time.

“It is possible the Ministry of Interior, or any other city authority, has called them,” the officer said. Another senior police officer said the police approached the soldiers to know shortly after the brigade elements appeared at the sports complex, but they remained tight-lipped.

“Most probably the brigade has come to the capital as a precautionary measure in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden,” he said.

Sources said about a thousand personnel of the brigade have been deployed in the capital for 15 days.

The district administration also showed ignorance about the army men's presence in the city. In practice, the Army arrives in the city when the local administration calls them but this time no request was made, an official of the administration said. There is an establishment of the Army in the sports complex and whenever they come to Islamabad they stay there, said the police officer. A heavy contingent of 111 Brigade had moved to the capital city during the Lal Masjid operation. Later, it also stayed in the complex on different occasions but not in such a big number.