50 Militants Held As Police Hunt Karachi Bombers

Police began detaining dozens of Islamic militants in Pakistan last night as French officials claimed the suicide bombing at Karachi's Sheraton hotel which killed 14 was clearly retaliation for the international war against terrorism.

Pakistani police believe that Karachi militant groups are working together to target western interests in revenge for the US-led campaign in Afghanistan.

Although there are frequent bomb attacks in Pakistan, suicide bombings against westerners are rare.

In France, a government spokesman, Jean-Francois Cope, said that Wednesday's bomb was obviously targeting "a western power" and "a member of the coalition against terrorism".

Security in France would be tightened, he said.

Last night, a dozen French submarine engineers wounded in the bombing, which killed 11 French colleagues, were flown back to Paris.

At least 50 militants in Pakistan were arrested yesterday in a series of raids.

Nisar Memon, the information minister, said that documents found inside the red Toyota car, which carried the bomb, were helping officers identify the vehicle's owner.

"It is because of the fact that Pakistan has participated in the war against terror," Mr Memon said. "This is the price that Pakistan is paying."

The blast came after a string of other well-planned attacks on westerners in Pakistan. Daniel Pearl, a US journalist, was kidnapped and murdered, and five people, including a US diplomat and her daughter, were killed in a suicide bombing at a church in Islamabad.

Many of Pakistan's most dangerous militant groups are known to be based in Karachi, a sprawling city of 13m people.

A senior detective on the Pearl case said that several mil itant groups were now working together to destabilise the military government.

Militants from Harkat-ul Jihad-al-Islami and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which both fight in Kashmir and have links to the former Taliban regime, were now working alongside two banned sectarian outfits, Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the detective said.

"They have joined hands since the crackdown and they are targeting western interests in Karachi," he said. "They are working against the government. We think there is a risk involved for all foreigners."

The attack will do nothing to boost Pakistan's image abroad and may encourage more aid workers and diplomats to leave the country. In particular, westerners in Karachi were now "extremely nervous", said Lonnie Kelley, a spokesman at the US consulate.

"So far we are not telling anybody to go home. But we have asked them to take extra precautions."

Families of American and Canadian diplomats in Islamabad were ordered to return home two months ago.

The mood of heightened security in Karachi was clearly evident yesterday, with Paramilitary Rangers posted outside major hotels and consulates in the city. Roads leading to the British deputy high commission and US consulate were closed.

France's newly appointed defence minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, flew to the city yesterday and met the injured. She said work would continue on the Agosta 90B attack submarines being built there.

"It is too early to say if France has been singled out," she said. "But if this turns out to be the case, it is because France has taken very determined action against terrorism and to eradicate terrorism."

French investigators will work with Pakistani police. FBI agents were also reportedly involved in the inquiry.