Pakistan: Detainees sought out extremists

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The five young U.S. men detained in Pakistan tried to join extremist groups there and were turned down, Pakistani investigators say.

Usman Anwar, the police chief whose subordinates questioned the men, said they told investigators, "We are here for jihad," The Washington Post reported.

The five are from the Alexandria, Va., area and met in a youth group at a mosque there. Relatives and friends describe them as religious Muslims but said there was no hint of extremism.

"Their parents are saying, 'We had no idea.' The youth director is saying, 'We had no idea.' The mosque is saying, 'We had no idea,'" Ashraf Nubani, a lawyer for the ICNA Center, the mosque where they met, told the Post. "There are two things. Either they never did these things ... or they kept this from everyone."

Pakistani officials said the five got in touch with extremist groups by e-mail, starting in August. At least two of the groups allegedly have ties to al-Qaida.

The men were turned away because no one had vouched for them, officials said.