Pakistan Police Arrest Suspect in Car Bombing

Authorities formally arrested a detained Islamic militant Saturday for a car bombing in May that killed 14 people, including 11 French nationals, a police official said.

Asif Zaheer, who was detained this month for allegedly planning an attack on U.S. diplomats in the southern port of Karachi, had confessed to involvement in the May 8 bombing in the city center, the police official said.

“We have arrested him for the killings of French nationals.... He is the first person arrested for the French killings,” he said.

The 11 French victims were technicians helping the Pakistani navy build submarines. The attack was one of several on foreigners in Pakistan this year.

Police surrounded the court when Zaheer, handcuffed and with his face covered, arrived in a van, witnesses said.

Zaheer -- an activist of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami group -- was detained Dec. 14 with two others, Sohail Noor and Mohammed Yousuf.

At the time, police seized a car packed with 22 pounds of explosives, which they said was to be used in a suicide attack on U.S. diplomats in Karachi.

Another police official, who asked not to be identified, said Zaheer had provided important clues about other suspects involved in the killing of foreigners in Pakistan.

Islamic militants in Pakistan have been angered by the government’s backing for the U.S. war in neighboring Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban regime and chased away members of Al Qaeda.