Pakistan foils plot to bomb Western targets

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Pakistani police have foiled a plot to blow up a restaurant in Islamabad's diplomatic enclave that is frequented by foreigners, and government buildings, a police official said on Monday.

Militants tied to Qari Hussain, known as the Taliban's "mentor of suicide bombers," were arrested before they could attack the Serena Hotel and the French Club restaurant in the heavily guarded diplomatic zone, Bani Amin Khan, Islamabad's acting police chief, told a news conference.

Taliban insurgents have previously attacked Western targets in a bid to destabilize the U.S.-backed government of President Asif Ali Zardari, part of a violent campaign that has scared away foreign investors.

An alleged militant wearing a black hood stood up beside police officials and told the news conference that he helped carry out the suicide attacks on the U.N. World Food Programme and near Pakistan's Naval Complex in the capital city last year.

"I was part of the planning. I provided logistics and suicide jackets to the bombers and in return, the Taliban paid me," said the man, who said he was a former paramilitary soldier named Noor Jahan.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62L3D320100322