Pakistan pays “heavy price” for al Qaeda arrest

Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, has said during a press conference with the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton that her country had "made great sacrifices and paid a heavy price for the arrest of leader of" Younis Mauritania. She noted that 30 Pakistanis were killed in an attack carried out by al Qaeda in retaliation for the arrest. A spokesman for Pakistani Taliban, told AFP from an undisclosed location: "We carried out the attacks in retaliation for the arrest of Younis Mauritania." Mauritania was arrested in a Quetta suburb in a join raid carried out by the Pakistani army and the CIA. He was taken to the US army barracks for questioning. Mauritania was believed to be planning terrorist operations against the United States, Europe, and Australia. Mauritania was thought to have travelled to Afghanistan during the Taliban rule. Upon return to his country, he joined the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GPSC). Before the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Mauritanian joined Al Qaeda, and acted as a bridge between the group and the Algerian regime.