Would-be bombers held

POLICE arrested two would-be suicide bombers planning to attack a mosque and a government building in Pakistan’s capital yesterday.

The arrests in Islamabad came as officials said another suspected US missile strike near the Afghan border killed three alleged insurgents.

Police spokesman Bin Yamin said the men detained in Islamabad were linked to the Pakistani Taliban in the South Waziristan region, where the army has been fighting the militants since last year.

One of the men was wearing an explosives vest and was on his way to attack an mosque during Friday prayers when officers seized him, Mr Yamin said. He did not say why the militants — who espouse a hardline interpretation of Islam — would target the mosque.