Pakistani police on Wednesday arrested four persons, including a member of the outlawed sectarian group Sipah-e-Sahaba, for their alleged involvement in the suicide car bombing outside the Danish embassy here that killed eight persons on Monday.
Abdul Rehman, a member of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, his son and two businessmen were arrested during a raid by police in Jhang district of Punjab province. The car used in the suicide bombing on Monday belonged to Rehman and he had registered a complaint with police about its theft on February 15, official sources were quoted as saying by Dawn news channel. Rehman was taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation, the sources said.
These were the first arrests made in connection with the suicide car bombing that also injured 24 people and partially damaged the nearby residence of the Indian High Commissioner.
Pakistani and Western officials have said the local Taliban or Al Qaida and its affiliated groups were likely to be behind the attack on the Danish embassy, which was linked to the printing of blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in Danish newspapers.
The white car used in the attack was stolen at gunpoint in Jhang in February, sources close to the investigation told the Pakistani media. Policemen and security guards deployed near the Danish embassy at the time of the blast had been questioned and a sketch of the suicide bomber was prepared using the information provided by them. Officials said the possibility of the sketch being "perfect" is remote because the witnesses only had a brief glimpse of the bomber as he drove up to the embassy.
About 30 kg of explosive materials was packed into the car, including its trunk, engine compartment and under the seats. The car, which had fake diplomatic licence plates, broke up into small pieces that acted as shrapnel and spread over an area with a radius of 700 metres. The shockwave of the blast damaged over 50 houses and 42 vehicles within a radius of 100 metres.