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"Militants" held in Pakistan

LAHORE: Police said on Tuesday they were holding some Islamist militants who may have had links with the suspects in the London suicide bombings, as investigators try to assess whether extremists in Pakistan were involved in the July 7 attacks.

Security officials believe one of the bombers spent time at a seminary in Lahore. The police chief there, Tariq Saleem, said some people were in custody. He said officers were trying to find out whether the ``London bombings have any tentacles in Pakistan, especially in Lahore.''

Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, lies near the Indian border.

Many militant groups maintain clandestine offices there, and Al-Qaeda operatives have been arrested in the city.

Other police officials said on condition of anonymity that the detained men were from two outlawed militant groups, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Both are Al-Qaeda-linked, and some of their supporters have been arrested for trying to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf. — AP

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