POLICE in Pakistan said yesterday they were holding seven Islamic militants with possible links to the suspects in the London suicide bombings, as a probe into the suspected ties focused on the city of Lahore.

Police in Lahore today said they were holding some Islamic 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.

Pakistani intelligence agents believe one of the London suicide bombers visited a religious school run by an al Qaida-linked terror group, two senior officials said today.

Authorities in Pakistan are looking into a connection between one of the London suicide bombers and two al-Qaida-linked militant groups there, including a man arrested for a 2002 attack on a church near the US Embassy, two senior intelligence officials said today.