Pakistani police arrested an Algerian and one other foreigner suspected of links with al-Qaeda today in the northern city of Peshawar after a shoot-out, intelligence officials said.
The Algerian, identified as Mr Mohammad Fauzi, was wounded in the neck when police opened fire at him after he threw a hand grenade at them while trying to escape along with another foreign militant in a vehicle, an intelligence official said.
The suspected militants took shelter in a religious school where Mr Fauzi was arrested, he said on condition of anonymity.
The second suspect, believed to be an Iraqi, fled but was caught later, he added. His identity was not immediately known.
The intelligence official said Mr Fauzi's condition was stable.
Pakistan, a key ally in the US-led war on terror, has launched a major crackdown on members of Osama bin Laden's shadowy al-Qaeda network since it arrested a computer expert from the organisation, Mr Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, last month.
Mr Khan's arrest has led to the detention of more than 60 suspected militants across Pakistan and he has proved a key source of information about al-Qaeda's plans to launch attacks in Britain and the United States.
Yesterday, Pakistani authorities published pictures of six "most-wanted terrorists", offering $340,000 each for information leading to the arrest of two militants wanted for assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf.
A large number of al-Qaeda men are thought to be hiding in Pakistan's rugged tribal region near the Afghan border or in major cities after fleeing Afghanistan when the United States attacked it after the September 11th attacks in 2001.