Two arrested in Pakistan for facilitating Wagah suicide bomber

Two militants linked to Tehreek-i- Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been arrested here for "facilitating" a suicide bomber, who blew himself up at the Wagah border minutes after the popular flag-lowering ceremony last year, killing 63 people. Ehsanullah and Saeed Jan alias Gajni were apprehended by law enforcement agencies from Badami Bagh area near Minar-i-Pakistan on Friday. A hand grenade, explosive material and weapons have been recovered from them.

Crime Investigation Agency chief Umer Virk said both TTP men were involved in facilitating the suicide bomber who blew himself up at Wagah Border on November, 2, 2014, killing 63 people, including women and children. The suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb minutes after the popular flag-lowering ceremony. Virk said the terrorists have been shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation. The suicide bomber was identified as Hafiz Hanifullah, 23, of Mohmand village in Bajaur Agency, the tribal belt of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Police said Hanifullah stayed in a mosque at Indo-Pak border area for 10 days before the attack. At least three militant factions had claimed responsibility for the grizzly bombing. Al-Qaeda affiliated militant group Jandullah, a splinter group of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was first to claim responsibility of the attack.

Later, another militant group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, said its bomber Hafiz Hanifullah carried out the attack.