Afghan official: Explosives seized, attacks stopped

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan security forces have arrested five militants with 22,000 pounds of explosives that they smuggled into the country from Pakistan, as well as another three suspects allegedly planning to assassinate the vice president.

A spokesman for the National Director for Security says three of the five men arrested with the explosives were members of the Pakistani Taliban, while the other two belonged to the Afghan Taliban. He says the explosives were hidden under potatoes packed in a truck and the men confessed they were planning an attack in the capital, Kabul. He says the men's orders came from militant leaders with ties to Pakistani intelligence.

The reports of new planned attacks in the Afghan capital came a week after militants said to be part of the Pakistan-based Haqqani network launched coordinated assaults in the heart of Kabul and in three other cities.

The security spokesman says the Haqqani network was also behind the foiled assassination attempt against Afghan Vice President Mohammed Karim Khalili.