Reporting in quondam: Monday, March 16 - Saturday, March 21, 2009
Two Sunnis shot dead in DI Khan
Monday, March 16, 2009
PESHAWAR: Two Sunnis were shot dead on Sunday in the second apparent sectarian attack in Dera Ismail Khan in as many days, said a senior police official.
Muhammad Shoaib and Asad Khan were killed one day after a Shia couple were shot dead by armed motorcyclists in the same area. The two men were coming out of a mosque when the gunmen opened fire, before escaping on a motorbike, police official Ehsanullah Khan told AFP. “It seems to be a sectarian killing,” he added. So far no one has been arrested in connection with either attack. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\16\story_16-3-2009_pg7_11
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Three terrorism attempts foiled
Monday, March 16, 2009
PESHAWAR/DI KHAN/ QUETTA: Law enforcement agencies on Sunday foiled three separate terrorism attempts, including two attempted bombings, in various parts of the country.
Peshawar police seized 10 kilogrammes of explosives packed with 400 ball bearings from a car on PAF Road and arrested two suspects. According to APP, the trigger mechanism was remote-controlled with a cell phone. Further investigation is underway to determine the intended target of the bombing.
Separately, Dera Ismail Khan city police defused a homemade 15kg bomb. The police, with the aid of the army and a bomb disposal squad, were responding to reports of a suspicious bag found near CRBC Chowk. DI Khan District Police Officer Iqbal Khan told Online the bomb was planted along the route of an army convoy.
Also on Sunday, Frontier Corps (FC) recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition and arrested seven people in Rakhani. The FC, on a tip-off, raided a house in Rakhani and recovered seven rifles, four sub-machine guns, two pistols, and 545 rounds of ammunition, Online reported.
Separately, unidentified men fired four rockets in Sui, however no casualties were reported. In another incident, a bomb blast occurred near a security forces camp in Khuzdar. While no casualties were reported, security forces injured two people during retaliatory fire. agencies
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\16\story_16-3-2009_pg7_12
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Truck carrying NATO supplies comes under attack in Chaman
Thursday, March 19, 2009
* Attacker flees, drilling equipment damaged, no casualties reported
QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: A man in Chaman hurled a grenade at a NATO supply truck carrying machinery destined for Afghanistan on Wednesday, damaging the equipment, police said.
The attacker threw the hand grenade as trucks loaded with supplies waited for customs clearance near the Chaman border crossing in Balochistan, local police officer Gul Mohammad said.
“Soon after the grenade blast people saw a man fleeing the area and (he) disappeared in the rush,” he said, quoting witnesses. The truck was carrying a machine for drilling wells. The blast caused “minor damage” to the machine and no casualties, the officer said.
The crossing was briefly closed to trucks after the attack, for which nobody has claimed responsibility.
“Police have closed the crossing and are searching other vehicles,” the official said.
US and NATO forces in Afghanistan are landlocked in Afghanistan and rely heavily on two major supply routes running through Pakistan. About 80 percent of the coalition forces’ supplies are transported through Pakistan. The main one goes through the Khyber Pass in the northwest, and trucks that use it have frequently been attacked in the recent months.
The shorter route through Chaman has attracted less attention from attackers, but has not been exempt from violence. Agencies
Balochistan has been rocked by a four-year insurgency waged by militants fighting for political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region’s natural resources. The province has also been hit by attacks blamed on Taliban. agencies
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\19\story_19-3-2009_pg7_6
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3 cops among 5 killed in attack on Malakand University
Thursday, March 19, 2009
CHAKDARA: Five people including three policemen were killed and four injured when over 100 unidentified armed men attacked a police vehicle at the entrance of the University of Malakand at Chakdara in Lower Dir on Tuesday night, official sources and witnesses told Daily Times.
According to one of the university’s watchman, the armed men asked the watchmen for the keys to the administration block and the university’s vehicles. The armed men shot and injured them on their refusal. One of them died later.
On hearing the shots, one of the watchmen informed the police. When a police vehicle reached the spot, the men targeted it with rocket fire, sources added. Four policemen were killed and three injured in the attack. The Taliban on Wednesday claimed “arresting” 14 of the attackers in Shamozai area and recovering university vehicles they had taken away after the attack. abdullah madani
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\19\story_19-3-2009_pg1_5
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Suspected Taliban blow up electricity pylon in Peshawar
Friday, March 20, 2009
PESHAWAR: Suspected Taliban on Thursday blew up a 500kV electricity pylon in the limits of Urmur Police Station plunging several parts of Peshawar into darkness.
A spokesman of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) told reporters the explosion destroyed the tower. The supply of electricity to the city and its cantonment remained suspended for more than eight hours. The PESCO spokesman said the tower’s repair would take five days. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\20\story_20-3-2009_pg7_4
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15 killed as army camp attacked in Landikotal
By Sudhir Ahmad Afridi
Friday, March 20, 2009
LANDIKOTAL: The security forces in Landikotal tehsil of Khyber Agency on Thursday clashed with the Taliban after they attacked an army camp using short-range missiles and mortars.
Fifteen people were reportedly killed in the missile attack.
The assailants targeted the military facility near the Landikotal bazaar from their hideouts in the mountains.
One of the rockets missed the target and hit a warehouse close to the bazaar, killing 15 men.
The men used to work at the warehouse and had also been using it as a makeshift residence.
Daily Times learnt that six bodies had been recovered so far from the rubble, while authorities did not have the necessary equipment to retrieve the rest from the debris.
Following the attack, the security forces retaliated hitting the attackers’ positions in the nearby mountains.
A source said a madrassa adjacent to the army camp was also hit in the missile attack.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\20\story_20-3-2009_pg7_30