Pakistan arrests suspected Turkish Al-Qaeda militant

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces arrested a suspected Turkish Al-Qaeda militant in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, a security official said on Sunday.

The man, seized on Saturday, identified himself as Mohammad Yusuf and said he was a Turkish national, a security official said.

The 25-year-old was apprehended when security forces stopped a vehicle at a check point at Shah Alam, five kms from Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan region, he said.

Pakistan has deployed thousands of troops into the tribal areas to hunt down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who crossed the border after Afghanistan's hardline Taliban Islamic regime fell in late 2001.

Security officials say Pakistan has captured some 700 Al-Qaeda linked militants and conducted a series of operations to flush out militants from the rugged tribal terrain.