Two held in Indian Independence Day terror investigation

Two men accused of planning terror strikes ahead of India's Independence Day celebrations on August 15 have been arrested in New Delhi.

Javed Ahmed and Ashiq Ali, suspected members of militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen, were held by the anti-terror wing of the Delhi Police late last night.

The arrests came soon after intelligence revealed planned attacks in three Indian cities - New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

The Hizbul Mujahideen is a group of Kashmiri militants based in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It is reportedly the biggest militant group operating in Kashmir.

The pair, in their early 30s, were in a car when the police caught them. Joint Commissioner of Police P N Agarwal said: "We had intelligence inputs about the movement of these militants and tracked them."

He added that two AK-47 rifles, nearly 100 cartridges and two grenades were recovered from the suspects.

Their nationalities are still uncertain and police have said that they were interrogating them about their targets in the capital city.

Security agencies are on high alert in the run-up to the Independence Day celebrations next week when prime minister Manmohan Singh unfurls the flag at the Red Fort in New Delhi.