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Lahore blast: 40 Afghans arrested, probe team formed
Kashmir Times. Dated: 2/16/2017 12:19:19 AM
Lahore, Feb 15 (Agencies): Authorities in Pakistan have formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe Monday`s suicide blast here that killed more than a dozen people. The police also arrested at least 43 suspects, mostly Afghan nationals, media reported on Wednesday.
"The JIT is comprised of officials from the CID, ISI, IB and police. The team will review statements of the injured and eyewitnesses and examine CCTV footages," Pakistan Today reported.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan police conducted search operations and arrested 43 people including Afghan nationals on Tuesday.
"The officers conducted raids in various areas in a search operation for the Lahore blast suspect`s accomplice and detained 40 Afghanis," the report said. Pakistan`s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police has also shifted the van of a private news channel to the police station for further investigation.
The forensic official said that various parts of the human body were recovered from the blast spot however, it is difficult to identify the terrorist from them, it said.
The blast which killed at least 13 people, including six police officers -- occurred on the busy Mall Road and apparently targeted the police.
US defence chief hails NATO as
'fundamental bedrock'
Brussels, Feb 15 (Agencies): US Defence Secretary James Mattis hailed NATO as the "fundamental bedrock" of transatlantic security as he sought to reassure allies today about President Donald Trump's commitment to the alliance. Mattis, who has been on the job less than a month, spoke as a scandal over White House officials' ties to Russia gripped the Trump presidency and claimed the job of the national security advisor. "The alliance remains a fundamental bedrock for the United States and for all the transatlantic community, bonded as we are together," Mattis said as he met his counterparts in Brussels for the first time.
"As President Trump has stated, he has strong support for NATO," said Mattis, a former Marine general who has himself previously served with NATO.
Mattis however stressed that the Trump administration, like the Obama administration before it, expected NATO allies to boost their defence spending.
"It's a fair demand that all who benefit from the best defence in the world carry their proportionate share of the necessary cost to defend freedom," he added.
The 28-member organisation is trying to portray unity after Trump's previous comments that the alliance was "obsolete."
Since his inauguration, Trump has taken a more orthodox stance on NATO and reaffirmed long-standing US commitment to the alliance.
Mattis has consistently voiced support for NATO and has been tougher on Russia than his boss, whose views worry the alliance's eastern European member states in particular.
But Mattis's visit has been overshadowed by the resignation of Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn over allegations he had discussed US sanctions with Russia's ambassador before taking office.
NATO chief Stoltenberg insisted the Flynn scandal was not a further cause for concern for the alliance, which has underpinned transatlantic security since the aftermath of World War II.
"I am absolutely certain that the message from this meeting will be a message of transatlantic unity," Stoltenberg said when asked about Flynn's resignation.