Pakistani security forces have arrested five Jundallah militants, thwarting a terrorist plot in Karachi.

Additional Inspector General of the Karachi Police Ghulam Shabir Shaikh said on Tuesday that security forces detained the Jundallah terrorists, who had a huge cache of arms and hit lists in their possession, after conducting a massive search operation on the outskirts of the city, Press TV reported on Wednesday. 

The five Jundallah members were planning to attack Shia Muslims during their mourning rituals in the holy month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. 

The arrested men were also involved in last year's Ashura bombings, which left dozens of people dead in Karachi, Shaikh added. 

The terrorists have been identified as Syed Kamran alias Waqar, Salar Muhammad alias Khalid, Amjad Khan alias Kargil, Farhan Khan alias Hussain, and Muhammad Munir alias Azeem. 

The police say former Jundallah chief Hamja Jofi -- also known as Haji Mumtaz -- who established the group in 2003 in the Waziristan tribal area of northwestern Pakistan, and the head of the terrorist group's Karachi branch, Amir Arif, alias Raza, were killed in a missile attack in August 2011. 

According to Pakistani security officials, bomb-making expert Fasih Urrehman, alias Adnan, is currently the head of Jundallah's Karachi branch. 

Jundallah and other terrorist groups based in Pakistan have staged several attacks on members of the Shia minority in all the major cities of the South Asian country over the past few years. 

The Jundallah terrorist group has also carried out numerous bombings, assassination attempts, and terrorist attacks in Iran. 

Jundallah's notorious leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, was arrested by Iranian intelligence forces in February 2010 and executed in June 2010 after being found guilty of 79 criminal charges, including manslaughter, armed robbery, bombing operations, and armed attacks on Iranian police and civilians. 

Rigi stated in his confessions that he had dealings with the U.S. government and was promised unlimited funds and resources for “waging an insurgency” in Iran.

(Source: Press TV)