Pakistan police seize explosives

By Syed Shoaib Hasan
BBC News, Islamabad

The seizure comes days after the Danish embassy was bombed

Police in Pakistan say they have foiled a possible bomb plot after seizing two vehicles carrying hundreds of kilograms of explosives in Rawalpindi.

The head of the Pakistani Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, said six people had been arrested.

Mr Malik confirmed that they suspected a plot to detonate the explosives.

The seizure comes just days after a car bomb attack on the Danish embassy in the capital, Islamabad, killed at least six people and wounded 30 others.

An internet posting purportedly by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan later claimed responsibility for the attack.

'Success'

Talking to journalists in Islamabad, Mr Malik said the operation had been a great success.

Earlier, the police chief in Rawalpindi said they had arrested several suspects and seized two cars packed with explosives.

He said the arrests took place overnight on Thursday.

The city of Rawalpindi lies 12km (seven miles) south of Islamabad and is the headquarters of Pakistan's military.

It also houses the residence of President Pervez Musharraf.

Police say such installations may have been the target.

However, officials belonging to the government agency in charge of security in Rawalpindi said they had no knowledge of the arrests which followed criticism of the government's failure to prevent the attack on the Danish embassy.

The al-Qaeda message posted on the internet said the bombing had been in retaliation for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad published in Danish newspapers.